Top NATO officials discuss alliance's role in world order

Stiteler Hall set the backdrop for a military briefing Monday as two North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials addressed Penn students regarding the structure of the alliance. The officers informed the audience about NATO's policies and objectives in the post-Cold War era in general, and on the European continent in particular. U.S. Navy Capt. John Eldridge first spoke of NATO's evolving role in the North Atlantic region since the fall of the Soviet Union. "One might ask, 'Why is NATO necessary now that there is no longer any Soviet Union?'" Eldridge said. He then explained that despite the fact that there is no longer an imminent threat to the West, the alliance's main role is to promote stability. This not only includes intervening whenever a nation is being oppressed by another, but even in cases where banking systems become faulty, preventing efficient commerce, according to Eldridge. NATO's mission, Eldridge said, is to preserve security and the territorial integrity of its member nations. "Consequently, if a member nation like Greece were attacked, under Article V, that's the same as attacking the United States and NATO would have to deal appropriately." Among the potential difficulties with the alliance, Eldridge said, is that it is based on a consensus system -- and not by majority -- so that all 19 members must vote in favor of action in any given situation. "If 18 nations want to invade China and Turkey doesn't want to, then we won't invade." But while every country's vote counts, the financing of the alliance is far from equal. Eldridge noted that with an annual budget of $1.6 billion, each member finances NATO according to its gross national product. The United States provides the largest share of that money -- 29 percent -- while the Czech Republic contributes just 0.8 percent. British Army Lt. Col. Peter Reynolds then went on to discuss the future objectives of NATO and focused primarily on its constant review of its military capabilities. "The United States' military technology surpasses that of most European armies," Reynolds said. "Therefore, America wants Europe to get its act together and improve its defense capabilities so it can reduce its role in European affairs." Reynolds said he believes that if this successfully occurs, the U.S. will return to being somewhat isolationist, focusing on mainly domestic affairs as it tends to do "every 12 years or so." Students who attended said they generally found the program productive. "I learned how NATO works and how America's role in NATO is not as dominant as the media portrays it," Wharton freshman Sam Fetchero said. "I learned today that it is a much more collective organization that requires much cooperation." One criticism, though, which became evident during the question-and-answer session, was that the two officers were not equipped to answer the politically charged questions the students had. "The objective of this NATO public relations tour is not to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded picture of how NATO operates," responded forum organizer Scott Silverstone, the assistant director of Penn's Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics. "Rather, one of its goals is to show the disjuncture between the military and political structures in NATO."