Fortress Europa: European Defense and the Future of the North Atlantic Alliance

• Main Author: Wilkie, Robert
• Other Authors: ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Government and Political Science; Military Forces and Organizations; Defense Systems; *NATO; *TRANSFORMATIONS; *COUNTERTERRORISM; *MILITARY CAPABILITIES; *MILITARY FORCES(FOREIGN); *DEFENSE SYSTEMS; *EUROPEAN UNION; MILITARY FORCE LEVELS; GOVERNMENT(FOREIGN); MILITARY MODERNIZATION; UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT; REPRINTS; EUROPE; MILITARY BUDGETS; MILITARY FORCES(UNITED STATES); *EUROPEAN DEFENSE; FORCE STRUCTURE; ESDP(EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY); North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA485569; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA485569

There is a political schizophrenia that passes for the strategic relationship between the United States and Western Europe. Since the end of World War II there has been a constant debate among America's European allies as to what comes first, being a good Atlanticist or a good European. Despite these contradictory emotions, for 50 years the North Atlantic Alliance has proved to be history's most resilient military coalition and a foundation for stability on the historically fractious continent. The premise that informed the postwar order, however, has disintegrated. Europe is no longer threatened by the specter of armored legions racing toward the Fulda Gap. Both NATO and the European Union are expanding into Central and Eastern Europe; indeed, European political and economic integration is almost complete. The United States stands as the most formidable military and economic power since the Rome of Augustus. But contrary to the expected script, America is embroiled in a world conflict not with rampant Leninism but against masked brigands with designs on weapons of mass destruction. The European democracies, in spite of their wealth and optimism, are also on the hit list and can no longer afford to make shortsighted bargains with terrorist states. If the Western allies are to survive the terrorist assault, it is imperative that they create a new and symbiotic military relationship. Old jealousies that point fingers at American hegemony or European indolence need to be put aside. NATO with its American primacy can provide the strategic framework for operations outside the European theater, while a combination of NATO and European Union members can and should create a military force capable of dealing with contingencies on their own doorstep. Published in Parameters, U.S. Army War College Quarterly, v32 n4, p34-47, Winter 2002-2003.