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During the production of this issue of NATO Review,
the United States suffered a devastating terrorist attack,
the effects of which have been felt around the world. The
reaction of America's Allies to the barbaric attacks of 11
September was immediate: total solidarity with the United
States in its time of need. As a profound symbol of that solidarity,
on 12 September, NATO's members agreed that, if it were determined
that this attack had been directed from abroad against the
United States, it should be regarded as an action covered
by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which states that an
attack against one or more Allies shall be considered an attack
against them all. On 2 October, the US government confirmed
that the attacks had indeed been launched from abroad, by
terrorists from Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaida organisation.
NATO's essential foundation - its bedrock - has always been
Article 5, the commitment to collective defence. Of course,
this commitment was first entered into in 1949, in very different
circumstances. But it remains equally valid and essential
today, in the face of this new threat.With the decision to
invoke Article 5, NATO's members demonstrated, once again,
that the Alliance is no simple talking shop. It is a community
of nations, united by its values, and utterly determined to
act together to defend them.
On 12 September, it was also demonstrated that the Euro-Atlantic
community today is much broader than the 19 NATO members.
Within hours of NATO's historic decision, the 46 member countries
of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council - from North America,
Europe and Central Asia - issued a statement in which they
agreed that these acts were an attack not only on the United
States, but on our common values. In the EAPC statement, the
46 countries also pledged to undertake all efforts needed
to combat the scourge of terrorism.
It is too early to say what role NATO and its members, or
the EAPC, will play in the coming international struggle against
the scourge of terrorism. That struggle will be long and sometimes
difficult. It will require all the tools at our disposal,
political, economic, diplomatic as well as military. And it
will need the active engagement of the widest possible coalition
of countries, all working towards common goals. The solidarity
and determination displayed in Brussels on 12 September, by
the North Atlantic Council and the EAPC, are a vital first
step. They show the practical importance of NATO's partnerships
and underline the timeliness of this issue of NATO Review.
Lord Robertson
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Alliance news in brief
Robert
Weaver analyses the evolution of NATO partnerships.
Robert
E. Hunter examines the
