NATO getting smarter with Smart Defense?
By ELIZABETH BUNN
The EuroZone crisis heightens NATO’s urge to take immediate effective measures to prevent members’ economic problems from turning into a general, more dangerous security crisis.
NATO relies on contributions from member countries to fund its initiatives. As European countries undergo severe austerity cuts, including massive cuts to defense budgets, their capacity to fulfill those financial obligations diminishes.
“Negative growth, or slow growth, cuts into the ability to sustain the type of funding that is necessary for NATO to operate,” said Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel, a veteran of the U.S. diplomatic corps and 2002 recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Service Award.
The question NATO must address – now more than ever – is how to prevent diminishing finances from weakening the alliance and thwarting its ability to execute its goals. → Full Story
