PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
04 April 2008
Summit Blog
Notes from NATO
Kim Giusti, a delegate to the Young Atlanticist Summit, is a current State Department Pickering Fellow and will be graduating from Georgetown University with a master's degree in German and European studies in May.
This is a daily diary of her observations during the 2008 summit.
April 4, 2008
With the final day of the summit [April 4] having come and gone, I'd like to take the opportunity in this final post to reflect on the week's events. On Friday [April 4], we were present for televised remarks by Romanian President Traian Basescu from inside the Romanian Parliament. President Basescu took the opportunity to explain to both the Young Atlanticists and the Romanian citizenry the results of the NATO Summit and his thoughts about the future of the alliance. We were also briefed by NATO's Policy Planning Director, Jamie Shea, who provided his perceptions of the summit in a more frank and informal style. Shea advocated for NATO to return to its agenda from the 1990s -- moving the process of Euro-Atlantic integration forward by extending enlargement to more states, particularly those in the Balkans.
The end results of the NATO summit -- particularly the extension of enlargement to encompass Albania and Croatia, but not the Republic of Macedonia -- can be viewed as a success for Shea's advocated return to the NATO agenda of the 1990s. The alliance continues to provide the 'carrot' necessary for many states in the region to carry out democratic and market reforms, thereby creating stability and security for themselves, as well as the rest of Europe. On Friday, the Young Atlanticist delegations from Greece and Macedonia met for five hours in an attempt to resolve the name issue. Moderated by a Czech representative and a Portuguese one, the talks ended with the issuance of a joint statement. This statement did not solve the issue -- no new name was settled upon -- but it did call on the governments of Greece and Macedonia to focus on their commonalities, increase political and economic cooperation and make all possible efforts to push the negotiation process forward. While this statement is not official, it can be viewed as a step in the right direction for the new generation of leaders who will soon be working and representing their governments in NATO and other international organizations. Building these kinds of relationships among young people was the primary purpose of the summit, and I believe this was certainly accomplished in the Greek and Macedonian case -- and certainly in many others.
I began the summit week hoping to gain some insight into the expectations young leaders across the region have for NATO, and how they hope to maintain its relevance as a 21st-century security actor. The delegates at this summit represented the future of the NATO alliance and, from what I saw and heard, everyone wanted to see NATO continue to expand, thereby increasing stability in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. They wanted to keep close ties to the United States, particularly as threats from non-traditional sources (terrorism, cyber-attack, and WMD proliferation) loom large on the agenda. Most of all, they wanted to maintain a community of common values throughout the region. The Young Atlanticists I met this week seem ready to take on the challenges of keeping NATO a relevant 21st-century security actor -– I can only hope that I will be seeing many of the faces I saw throughout the week in the North Atlantic Council and in other international security organizations in the future.
April 3, 2008
After a long day participating in sessions with world leaders, experts and heads of state, and a late night experiencing Romanian culture and cuisine, all of the delegates to the Young Atlanticist Summit seemed ready for a little caffeine as we boarded the bus at 6:30 this morning [April 3]. The schedule for the day included: Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha; British Foreign Secretary David Miliband; Afghan President Hamid Karzai, along with first lady Laura Bush (a session that was again linked via video conference to Kabul University); as well as a NATO simulation game regarding energy security.
The two highlights of the day were most definitely British Foreign Secretary Miliband and the session with Afghan President Karzai and first lady Bush.
The Miliband session was significantly less formal than previous speakers in terms of atmosphere, including a short speech followed by a 40-minute question and answer period in which Miliband simply sat on the edge of the stage and spoke off the cuff. Miliband discussed the new nature of NATO, focusing on three areas: partnership, membership and functions. He spoke about the civilizing force of NATO enlargement on countries in Eastern Europe and beyond, as well as the changing nature of collective defense. One member of the Russian delegation asked Miliband to comment on the increasingly powerful position of international actors as opposed to nation-states on the world stage. Miliband responded with a warning to all participants not to underestimate the power of the nation-state, even if it now appears less powerful than in the Westphalian model. The nation-state, he said, is not entirely obsolete. Reactions to Miliband's remarks were extremely positive among all delegates with whom I spoke –- they were satisfied with both the format and the quality of his answers, particularly the rather frank nature of his answers to the various questions posed.
The session with President Karzai and first lady Bush left a deep impression on all participants, particularly the way the Afghan students both here in Bucharest and linked in via teleconference from Kabul were able to interact with their president and press him on difficult topics. One of the Afghan students in Kabul chose not to ask President Karzai a question, but merely to make a statement requesting him to work with the international community and in particular the media, to present Afghanistan to the Western world as a place that is on the road to development. Later, we were able to speak with the Afghan students about the role of the Western media and infrequency of human-interest stories, realizing that our view of the general living situation in Afghanistan might be rather skewed. All participants were impressed by the Afghan delegation's resolve to push their country forward, pursuing democracy and stability.
April 2, 2008
The Young Atlanticist Summit came into full swing today [April 2] as delegates were able to listen to and participate in more than eight hours of discussions with experts, heads of state and world leaders. Starting the day with a speech by President George Bush, participants also heard from NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer; NATO SACEUR General John Craddock; Estonian President Toomas Ilves; Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende; and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. In addition, we also received a briefing on the role of NATO in energy security from U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza and Thierry Legendre, a member of the NATO policy planning staff.
Afghanistan and NATO expansion to the Adriatic-3 -– Albania, Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia -- were the two topics that ruled the day, popping up throughout speeches and question-and-answer sessions. The session with De Hoop Scheffer was linked in to Kabul University [Afghanistan] via video teleconference, a first for Kabul and a success for a conference priding itself on its uses of new technologies. Following De Hoop Scheffer's remarks, participants both here in Bucharest and in Kabul were able to pose questions, many involving the NATO-led ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] mission in Afghanistan. The Afghan students questioned the secretary-general regarding the reconstruction efforts of the ISAF mission and whether or not he believed the ISAF mission to be successful. The secretary-general stated that he does not believe that ISAF is failing in Afghanistan and that many developments over the past five years are apparent in terms of education, infrastructure, democracy and stability. In addition, he noted that while Afghanistan needs the international military presence in order to stabilize, the international community does not own Afghanistan. The reaction of the students in both Kabul and Bucharest was positive. Discussions throughout the rest of the day tended to reject the idea that NATO was failing in Afghanistan, while stressing the importance of success of the ISAF mission for the future of the alliance.
In terms of NATO expansion, a Macedonian YAS participant raised a rather confrontational question during the session with the secretary-general. The delegate quoted statistics that Greece contributes far less than the Republic of Macedonia to NATO operations and asked, "What is the purpose of Greek membership in NATO other than to block Macedonian membership?" Many delegates were taken aback by the confrontational nature of the question, and the secretary-general noted that such an approach to this complex issue would not work. While De Hoop Scheffer said that he wants Macedonia to be a member of NATO, he stated that he could only work indirectly to make that happen. As we have seen with last night's veto exercised by Greece, the Macedonian name issue remains problematic. YAS delegates from the Greek delegation with whom I spoke said that they believe the issue can be solved with increased cooperation and dialogue between Greece and Macedonia and seemed optimistic that this would occur. With Albania and Croatia being welcomed into NATO during the Bucharest Summit, the delegates seemed certain that more international attention would be focused on the Macedonian name issue and hopefully prompt increased dialogue between the two parties.
April 1, 2008
As traffic today came to a standstill, the center lanes of Bucharest's main streets formed a security corridor for arriving dignitaries and their entourages. Lucky for me, the four large buses transporting the YAS [Young Atlanticist Summit] delegates have been outfitted with security passes, allowing us to ride within the security corridor and around the Parliament. After a short stop at the Academy of the Romanian Intelligence Service (the site that will house both delegates and international staff for the next five days), we loaded back onto the buses to attend the summit's opening session at the Romanian Intelligence Service headquarters.
After a brief greeting by Ambassador George-Cristian Maior, director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the delegates received welcoming remarks from Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council of the United States; Alexandru Serban, executive president of the Euro-Atlantic Council; Ambassador Robert Hunter, president of the Atlantic Treaty Association (and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO); and Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu. General Joseph Ralston, former supreme allied commander Europe (NATO), made the opening session's final remarks. Although each speaker discussed different facets of the trans-Atlantic relationship and the challenges of the Bucharest Summit, all focused at least in part on the future and place that young leaders (like ourselves) would have to play in the continued relevance of the alliance. The necessity of an enduring community of common values, including freedom, democracy and prosperity, permeated the various remarks, as well as the need to educate young people about the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship. In this regard, Romanian Prime Minister Tariceanu quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt as having said: "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future." This quote seemed to embody what the summit organizers were trying to achieve through the Young Atlanticist Summit –- a new generation of educated young leaders who believe in the continued necessity of the alliance.
Following the opening session, the delegates, staff and speakers retreated to a reception of food, drink and deep conversation about the Bucharest Summit and NATO's future role as an international actor. In a rather smoky room, I was able to ask delegates from the Czech Republic and Poland a few questions about their participation in the conference, as well as more sensitive issues, such as [proposed] missile defense. Asking why they thought NATO remained important, I received a number of answers: increasing stability in Eastern Europe and the Balkans; retaining close ties with the United States in an age of globalization; maintaining a community of values based on democracy and free markets; and for those countries that were originally Warsaw Pact member states, a symbol of the end of the Cold War and their move toward the West. With speeches by no fewer than six world leaders coming at us tomorrow, I am certain I will be hearing more about why NATO remains relevant and how these young leaders throughout the trans-Atlantic region plan to keep it that way.
March 31, 2008
Hundreds of Romanian and NATO flags line the streets of Bucharest leading from the airport to the parliament, signaling that the NATO Summit is about to begin. As I arrived here on Saturday afternoon [March 29], the streets were filled with dozens of police officers and street sweepers -- all in a last-minute effort to prepare Bucharest for the onslaught of foreign dignitaries arriving in less than 72 hours.
I am here under the auspices of the Young Atlanticist Summit, a gathering held in conjunction with the NATO Summit that brings together over 120 students and young professionals from 36 NATO and Partnership for Peace countries. The summit will provide a new generation of young leaders in the transatlantic arena with the opportunity to meet directly with world leaders, experts and decision makers and learn more about the security challenges the Atlantic Community faces in the 21st century. As delegates to the summit, we will be able to question and share our opinions with national leaders regarding the future direction of the alliance, as well as interact with one another and reflect on NATO’s continued relevance in all aspects of trans-Atlantic and global security.
The agenda for the NATO Summit will prove challenging, from the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and KFOR in Kosovo to potential enlargement of the Adriatic-3 and extension of the Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine. The alliance is also facing new threats that could potentially surface at the summit, including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber-attacks and energy security. What I find myself predominantly interested in, however, are the perspectives of the other participants at the YAS and why they believe that NATO remains an important security actor in the trans-Atlantic arena.
The outcome of the NATO Summit and those that follow over the next decade will set the stage for the extent to which NATO will be involved in the “new threats” I mentioned. Whether one believes that NATO remains in a post-Cold War existential crisis or not, the alliance has already expanded its purview into fighting a counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and looks ready to take on more projects that fall outside of its traditional trans-Atlantic security role. Over the next few days, I hope to gain some insight into the expectations young leaders across the region have for NATO, and how they hope to maintain its relevance as a security actor in the 21st century.
For more information about the Young Atlanticist Summit or to read blogs by other summit participants, please visit www.youngatlanticist.org.
