On 1 August, controversial former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen took over as secretary-general of NATO. Fogh Rasmussen is aided by a 12-member group of experts chaired by former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and the ex-chief executive officer (CEO) of Royal Dutch Shell, Jeroen van der Veer. Fogh Rasmussen's main task will be to chair NATO meetings and to devise and implement a new strategy for the organisation in time for its next summit in Lisbon (Portugal) in 2010. The new strategy must address the threats posed by climate change, disruptions to energy supply, Internet piracy, and terrorism.
Fogh Rasmussen has made no secret of the size of the task ahead. His predecessor, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, regularly criticised what he saw as a lack of willingness on the part of many Western countries to contribute manpower to NATO operations. Fogh Rasmussen is determined to boost NATO's ability to curb terrorism and resolve crises more effectively. Like de Hoop Scheffer, he has called on member states to pull their weight; in his words, "NATO will do its part but it cannot do it alone[…]this needs to be an international effort, both military and civilian."
To achieve his goals, Fogh Rasmussen is keen to make use of his diplomatic experience and high-level contacts in Europe and North America. He believes that NATO has to expand its co-operation with the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), and non-government organisations (NGOs). He has made conciliatory remarks towards stakeholders, without which NATO is unlikely to achieve its goals.
Fogh Rasmussen must now put his words into action, which is likely to be a slow, drawn-out process. Indeed, his call for an increased contribution from European NATO member states to operations in Afghanistan comes at a time of declining support in many EU countries for this mission. Casualties of international troops in Afghanistan peaked last month at 77, the highest figure since coalition forces began operations there in late 2001. This has come amid a surge in activity from international forces in a desperate attempt to provide security ahead of the presidential election in areas that have been under the control of the Taliban over previous years. Meanwhile, the 11 North African and Middle Eastern partner countries will not be easily won over by Fogh Rasmussen's olive branch. The moderate governments have a lot at stake, with conservative, staunchly Muslim parties breathing down their necks, and they may call for more concessions from Fogh Rasmussen and a different approach to NATO operations in countries with predominantly Muslim populations before taking Fogh Rasmussen up on his offer.
As for Russia, the government is listening carefully to what the new secretary-general has to say. Although no official reaction has yet been heard, the amount of coverage by state-dependent media of Fogh Rasmussen's speech suggests that it will have gone down very well with the government. After all, for all the war-mongering and talk of "spheres of influence", there is also a genuine trend towards making Russia a recognised and respected international partner rather than a formidable outcast. The Russian government is likely to try to make some political capital out of Fogh Rasmussen's initiatives, but this is mostly intended for domestic consumption and hence is unlikely to worry the new secretary-general too much. In terms of business, Russia now hopes that the NATO membership claims by the post-Soviet states will be consigned to history and that it will obtain a stronger voice as regards key security operations globally. Since Russia is not a NATO member, nor intends to become one, its ultimate goal is to see NATO replaced with a bigger international security organisation, at least on the European scale, of which it will be a fully fledged member.
In light of the different interests of key stakeholders, a more inclusive approach to fighting terrorism is certainly sensible. This may slow the process down, but Fogh Rasmussen appears to have concluded that this is the best way to approach the issue. He is willing to listen to others but is not afraid to take uncomfortable decisions, as his record as Danish prime minister shows.
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