Anders Fogh Rasmussen was handed the baton of Alliance leadership on August 1, 2009. In his first press conference, NATO's new Secretary General joked that the month of August did not exist on the NATO calendar. In Brussels, the summer months consist of "June, July, Les Vacances." However, Rasmussen made clear that he did not intend to start his term with an extended vacation from the important issues facing the Alliance. Taking the helm during a period in which NATO is facing a constellation of new and complex challenges, Rasmussen has expressed his determination to lead the process of NATO's transformation into a "modernized Alliance." The new Strategic Concept aims to provide a framework for the Alliance around what Rasmussen has identified as the three dimensions of NATO's role: assured, cooperative, and complementary security.
During his first year of leadership, as the Group of Experts worked toward drafting recommendations for the new Strategic Concept, Rasmussen already provided the full text of a new vision within his speeches. By analyzing a selection of quotes from 35 of these speeches, we can begin to see what kind of new Strategic Concept will likely be revealed in November in Lisbon.
Part I - The Purpose and Tasks of the Alliance:
"NATO remains the ultimate insurance policy for almost 1 billion (actually 900 million) people in 28 countries" (First NATO Press Conference).
"We have followed three basic principles upon which a peaceful Europe must be built: - first, the principle that the security of all states in the Euro-Atlantic community is indivisible – each state’s security is equally important, intimately interlinked, and interdependent; - second, the principle that every state has the right to choose is security alignments; - third, the principle that no state, or group of states, can consider any part of the Euro-Atlantic area as its sphere of influence" (Building a Euro-Atlantic Security Architecture).
"NATO [takes] action to protect Muslims against oppression and massacre" (NATO-Jordan Public Diplomacy Conference).
Part II - Strategic Perspectives:
NATO-Russia relations: NATO must "work towards transforming NATO-Russia relations into a true strategic Partnership" (NATO and Russia, partners for the future).
Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative: NATO is "fully committed to building stronger relations with [MD and ICI countries], on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and trust, and to face common challenges: terrorism, proliferation, the dangers of failed states" (First NATO Press Conference).
China, India and farther across the globe: "We should reach out to the rising stars of this Century, such as China and India, where we have common security interests... We are also deepening our partnerships with countries from across the globe, from Australia to Japan" (Speech at Georgetown).
Part III - The Approach to Security in the 21st Century:
Globalisation: We must make "the Alliance a clearing house for global security issues" (NATO in the 21st Century).
Comprehensive Approach: "Our new strategy must incorporate the notion of a 'Comprehensive Approach'" (New Challenges - Better Capabilities).
Open Door policy: "NATO’s Open Door Policy must continue" (Speech in Warsaw).
Common Missile Defence Shield from Vancouver to Vladivostok: "We need to take on Alliance Missile Defence Shield as a NATO mission" (Press Conference in Tallinn). "Building missile defence in a way that includes Russia would help create the true European security architecture we would all like to see" (Monthly Press Briefing).
Part IV - Guidelines for the Principles of the Alliance:
Defence Budget: "Given the global financial crisis, it is all the more important that we spend wisely... The wisest spending is for collective solutions" (NATO Talk around the Brandeburger Tor).
Military Forces: "Geographic distance will not protect us" (NATO at 60). "We need transformation in a direction of more flexibility, more mobility, more deployability" (New Challenges - Better Capabilities).
NATO’s Planning, Consultation and Decision Making: "We need to expand our cooperation with the EU" (Fourth Strategic Concept Seminar). "If we have a coherent approach, we can retain the essential capabilities we need, avoid pointless duplication, and buy together what we couldn’t afford individually" (Press Conference). "The Alliance should become the hub of a network of security partnerships and a centre for consultation on international security issues" (NATO in the 21st Century). "There is no military solution to conflicts solely. We must strengthen the interaction between military security and civilian development" (Afghanistan and the Future of Peace Operations). "NATO must continue to maintain a balance between credible deterrence, and support for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation" (Press Conference in Tallinn).
Part V – Conclusion:
"Solidarity is the lifeblood of NATO. Solidarity has enabled us to succeed in the past; it is what helps us to succeed today; and it is what will enable us to be successful in the future" (On Alliance Solidarity).
Rasmussen's vision, as outlined above, does not vary significantly from the report of the Group of Experts chaired by Madeleine Albright. This shows that in real practice, Europeans and Americans share common values and have similar understandings of the security environment. This shared vision has required 60 years of NATO work. The goal of the new Strategic Concept must be to further develop these commonalities between Europeans and Americans, between NATO and Russia, and between the West and the Muslim world.
Olga Kolesnichenko is a freelance journalist and coordinator for military issues for YATA-Russia in Moscow.
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