NATO, which has had problems successfully conducting missions in the post-Cold War era, is now heading to Iraq and Syria after dismantling Yugoslavia and abandoning Libya, and without coping with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, at its May 25 summit in Brussels, NATO decided to join the 68-nation anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition led by the United States.
According to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance will step up its reconnaissance with AWACS (airborne warning and control system) planes, provide more intelligence support for anti-IS operations, coordinate air operations over Iraq and Syria, and set up a special unit in its Brussels headquarters for intelligence and planning against terror. But NATO will not play a combatant role.
The decision is, in a way, a move to appease US President Donald Trump, who had declared NATO obsolete and wants alliance members to pay their "fair shares." Trump must have been pleased to see Germany, France and Italy — none of which wanted NATO to get involved in Iraq and Syria — retract their objections.
Under normal conditions, Turkey should also be pleased. Turkey is NATO’s second-largest military force, and for a time Ankara persistently pushed to expedite the Syrian uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. More recently, the Turkish government began demanding that the United States terminate its alliance with Syrian Kurds and instead take on IS with Turkey and other NATO members.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
