Perceived threat from Russia may spur creation of NATO military unit
Western defense ministers are set to consider a new rapid-reaction force that could be deployed in nations that feel in danger.
LONDON — Seeking to reassure countries grown fearful of Russia, Western defense ministers will consider the creation of an easily deployable military force that could be sent into nations feeling threatened by possible aggression, a senior U.S. Defense official said today.
The creation of such a force would take NATO back to its roots as a deterrent against Russian aggression after years of concentrating on missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan. The Bush administration is pushing the idea as a compromise solution that could reassure allies without provoking Russia. NATO defense chiefs plan to discuss the proposal at a meeting Friday. At the same time, however, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped up the Bush administration's denunciation of Moscow, complaining in a speech in Washington that Russia had shown a "worsening pattern of behavior" in which it was "increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad."
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who is scheduled to deliver his own major address on Russia Friday, sounded a more moderate line to reporters in London.
"We need to proceed with caution," Gates said, "because there are a range of views on how to respond from some of our friends in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to some of the countries of Western Europe."
Gates said he was trying to find a "middle ground" in their views. Although he didn't mention the new NATO force in his meeting with reporters, it could serve as such a compromise solution.
The senior Defense official who described the proposal spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Friday's meeting.
The official said there was broad support for the idea but that key issues were undecided. They include questions about who would provide equipment for the force, who would have the authority to deploy it and under what situations it could be used.
The U.S. has pushed before to create NATO rapid-reaction forces, with little success. However, the reemerging sense of threat from Russia may provide a needed incentive.
Under the NATO charter, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. But newer members have begun to question whether the alliance has the will or capacity to fulfill the charter, the official said.
"The question is going to be somewhat existential: Are we what we say we are?" said the official. "We simply aren't building the capabilities we say we must have."
