NATO and Iraq

<p>PROBLEM: Iraq--specifically the small Alliance military commitments to the rebuilding of the country. WAY AHEAD: This is a thematic report that assesses several prominent aspects of NATO and the possibility of expanding its operations in Iraq. It begins with an examination of the Alliance's political context to discuss the concept of consensus central tenets of the NATO charter the debate over out-of-area military action and high-level decisions on Iraq made by the North Atlantic Council. Next energy resources (oil and natural gas) are examined to present the prominence of the Persian Gulf region dependencies within the economies of NATO nations and the impact of regional instability on the worldwide prices of these fluid fossil fuels. The author a former NATO requirements officer then examines the Alliance's military forces to show defense expenditures force structures and operational experience which reveal tremendous capabilities and an available pool of forces. Iraq is then discussed to show potential locations and missions that could be conducted by a NATO-led division. Essentially this is a positive but prodding story. The Alliance has overcome the divisive period of early 2003 reached unanimous agreement on a number of contentious issues and has begun to formally contribute resources to important tasks within Iraq. However the Alliance has significant political economic and military interests in the successful rebuilding of Iraq and as such should be formally contributing to broader missions in the country. This is a defining period for the newly expanded post-Cold War Atlantic Alliance. NATO has the interests capability and obligation to do much more in Iraq. The very relevance of the Alliance is at stake.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>