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Victoria Nuland, US Ambassador to NATO

This position is Nuland’s second post in the Atlantic alliance. She was sworn in as the 18th United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on July 13, 2005. As US NATO Deputy between July 2000 and July 2003, she was instrumental in the alliance’s historic invocation of Article 5 of its charter – “an attack on one ally is an attack on all” – in support of the U.S. after September 11, 2001. Here she talks to us about the evolution of NATO since that historic day, the challenges facing a transatlantic alliance with sometimes disparate threat perceptions, and NATO’s support for stronger European defense capability.

What is the greatest challenge to transatlantic relations today?
The greatest challenge for transatlantic relations today is maintaining unity and burden-sharing in meeting the many challenges our nations face. It is a cliché, but a true one, that things were simpler during the Cold War when we joined forces to contain and ultimately roll back Soviet Communism. We shared a sense of threat and our respective roles were clearer. Today, in confronting terrorism at home and abroad, global economic and environmental challenges, authoritarian states and those seeking WMD, and in supporting fragile democracies and states at risk, we need to pool our efforts and use all the tools at our collective disposal—humanitarian, economic, political and, as necessary, military—to defend and advance our democratic way of life. With such a diverse set of challenges, we need even more unity of purpose and more dialogue than we had during the Cold War. It takes effort, commitment and resources from all our governments, and in equal measure.

What are your priorities in your work at NATO?
At NATO, job one today is strengthening the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, which the Alliance leads in support of the Afghan government and Afghan security forces. All 26 Allies contribute to the ISAF mission, and we have 13 partners from 4 continents with us as well. We are also focusing heavily on keeping the peace in Kosovo as the UN seeks to settle the final status issues there, and intensifying our work on missile defenses as the threat from Iran grows.

What do you say to the claim that NATO is a fundamentally American organization that functions primarily in the American interest?
Among the strengths of NATO since its founding almost sixty years ago has been the principle of consensus decision making. NATO can do nothing in Europe or beyond that all 26 members don’t agree to do. The United States can use its strong voice and its impressive financial and military commitment to the Alliance to try to influence and persuade its Allies, but it can’t force a “yes” vote by all nations or override the veto of even one sovereign member. In practice, even tiny Luxembourg or Iceland with no military could block a NATO decision. The good news in this system is that when NATO takes a decision, it is backed unanimously by all its members, which sends a strong political and military message. But it also means that NATO can’t be used when we disagree, as we did, for example, over the question of deposing Saddam Hussein in 2003. Today, however, NATO does run a training program for the Iraqi military outside Baghdad because we all agree that ultimately Iraqis must secure their own future.

What is NATO’s stance on the development of a common European security and defense policy?
NATO has strongly supported the development of ESDP and particularly its role in strengthening European defense capabilities and spending. With 21 countries in both NATO and the EU now, a stronger EU military capability also means NATO will have a stronger pool of forces to draw on. In developing ESDP, NATO has urged EU members to focus on increasing member state defense budgets and strengthening the capability and deploy-ability of EU forces rather than duplicating structures that exist in NATO.


Ambassador Victoria Nuland has held posts in Moscow, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Guangzhou, China and various positions in Washington under both Republican and Democratic administrations. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and speaks Russian, French and some Chinese. Nuland is the first woman to occupy the post of United States Permanent Representative to NATO.


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