-Caveat Lector-
"Because of Kosovo, Moscow has broken relations with NATO.
['They'll be back,"] says NATO's General Naumann. 'To be polite, I won't
point out who needs who more desperately.' "
German General Helped Steer NATO
By JEFFREY ULBRICH
.c The Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Klaus Naumann, the four-star German general who
heads NATO's military arm, bristles a bit when asked if the attacks on
Yugoslavia are an illustration of the 19-nation alliance's future.
It's not quite that simple, says Naumann, 59, who shortly will end his tour
as NATO's top general: Military action will always be a last resort. NATO
will never be quick to take up arms, he says.
The difference between the old Cold War NATO and the emerging alliance, he
says, is that the old one was focused on a one-dimensional threat --
aggression by the Warsaw Pact. And that, ultimately, was easy to understand.
``This threat has disappeared, but what has emerged is a Europe which is full
of uncertainties and instabilities,'' said Naumann, described by some at NATO
as a superb combination of diplomat and military strategist. ``We have a new
risk pattern -- multifaceted, multidirectional.''
As NATO prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday at a summit meeting in
Washington later this month, explaining these new threats to the public is a
prime concern. Bewildered citizens are sometimes unclear what vital interests
are at stake in an obscure place like Kosovo.
``It's difficult to convey the message,'' Naumann acknowledged. ``It's
difficult to understand it because we are focused on the traditional concept
of defense as something for a national state ... more or less tied to the
defense of a nation's territory.''
Increasingly, however, risks transcend one nation and can't be fought with
national approaches.
``Even the most powerful country of the alliance, the United States of
America, became vulnerable against non-state actors,'' said Naumann,
referring to terrorists and fanatical groups that can acquire weapons of mass
destruction. ``No one can defeat the Americans militarily, but non-state
actors can pose a threat.''
Naumann is chairman of the NATO Military Committee, which approves and
oversees the plans and activities of Gen. Wesley Clark, the alliance's
supreme allied commander for Europe who is running the Kosovo operation.
In that role, Naumann sees new types of conflicts emerging, like Bosnia,
where NATO still heads nearly 30,000 peacekeeping troops, or Kosovo, where a
humanitarian tragedy threatens to destabilize the Balkans, menacing the
security of all of Europe.
Collective defense remains at the core of NATO's policy, where an attack
against one member is considered an attack against all. But the alliance also
tries to prevent conflicts and manage crises, Naumann says, which means ``we
will act at the periphery of the treaty area and beyond the treaty area on a
case-by-case basis.'' Thirdly, the alliance tries to project stability by
creating partnerships with countries like Russia and Ukraine.
There are satisfactions in a job like his, says Naumann, who also worked at
NATO as a young colonel dealing with nuclear matters. What has exasperated
him is that his fellow Europeans haven't been able to show more cohesion and
take more responsibility for Europe's security into their own hands.
``They feel like Popeye, but they have forgotten to take their can of
spinach,'' says Naumann.
In the German general's view, ``there is not much resolve to show the way, to
act as Europeans, to take a little bit of the burden on their shoulders.''
One of the greatest challenges, he said, has been establishing a meaningful
post-Cold War relationship with Russia. That was started two years ago by
creating the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council -- but Russia's unhappiness
with NATO's bombing Yugoslavia has put that cooperation on hold.
Through the joint council, Naumann says, the Russians had hoped to have a say
in anything NATO does.
``I think this is the point which was so disappointing for them. They had
hoped NATO would not take any decision at all without having them asked to
rubber-stamp it,'' he said.
But because of Kosovo, Moscow has broken relations with NATO and recalled its
military representative, something Naumann fears could last for some time.
``I do hope they will reconsider, since they need us and we need them,'' he
said. ``I'll leave it open, in order to be polite, who needs who more
badly.''
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