Whether West est Europe Considered onsidered NATO as Burden or Protector P

Introduction
What was Cold War?
The Cold War was a period of tension and subdued hostility which gripped most of the world between the 1940s and the early 1990s. The primary actors in the Cold War were the United States and its allies, countered by Russia and countries aligned with that nation. Rather than engaging in a potentially devastating out and out war, , the countries in involved in the Cold War jockeyed for position in more subtle ways.

When did the Cold War end?

The Cold War virtually ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Mikhail Gorbachev resigned. The symptoms of the collapse of Soviet Union, which was consecutively failing to control the unrest in various parts of it, were seen in late 80s. Countries like the Ukraine, West Germany who were Post-Cold War Soviet States controlled by the USSR came e out of the union in the first days of 90s. After the he policy taken to reform the vulnerable economy of the union failed, the fall of Soviet Union became a matter of time.

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Virtually Soviet Union was seen as a victim of the Cold War. But In 1992 Geroge F.Kennan, one of the three leading fighters of the Cold War, made a point of stating that nobody won the cold war. It had been a long, costly tragedy, fuelled on both sides by unreal and exaggerated estimates of the intentions and strength of the other side.

Effects of Cold war in West Europe

In many ways it was very good for Western Europe. For the first time ever, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy worked together with the USA and forge an alliance. Their economies grew together, and modern.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO is an alliance of countries from Europe and North America. It provides a unique link between these two continents for consultation and cooperation in the field of defense and security, and the conduct of multinational crisismanagement operations. NATO was a byproduct of the Truman Doctrine in one sense. By 1947, US president Harry S. Truman's advisers urged him to take immediate steps to counter the Soviet Union's influence, citing Stalin's efforts (amid post-war confusion and collapse) to undermine the US by encouraging rivalries among capitalists that could precipitate another war. Trumans response to this was the adoption of containment, the goal of which was to stop the spread of communism.

West Europe and NATO

Recent research has revealed secret armies have existed across Western Europe, during the Cold War. Coordinated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), they were run by the European military secret services in close cooperation, with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the British foreign secret service Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also MI6). Trained together with US Green Berets and British Special Air Service (SAS), these clandestine NATO soldiers, armed with underground arms-caches, prepared against a potential Soviet invasion and occupation of Western

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Europe, as well as the coming to power of communist parties. The existence of these clandestine NATO armies remained a closely guarded secret throughout the Cold War until 1990. As a Cold War mechanism, NATO served the primary function of being the political and economic rival of the Warsaw Pact. However, with the disbanding of the Warsaw Pact, the organization was forced to search for a new role in order er to remain relevant to ATO and Warsaw Pact States the post-Cold Cold War world. It did so by NATO attempting to handle the immediate post-Cold post Cold War concerns involving disarmament and the repositioning of a unified Germany, as well as relations with the former Soviet Union. By the mid-1990s, there was a need to reconsider the security approach of NATO as disarmament was in process and the German unification had proceeded relatively smoothly, with the new state integrated into the Western Europe apparatus. The organization consequently sought policies that both strengthened existing partnerships and expanded eastwards to encompass the Eastern European states. This can be seen especially in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council initiatives, which aimed to strengthen strengthen NATOs relationships with members of the former Soviet bloc.

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Content
By the end of the century, there was a need to critically question NATOs changing role. This was especially true after the NATO bombing of Kosovo, which further questioned NATOs security role, given that the organization had made a military offensive against the Serbian forces, a change from its original defense-related aims. In addition, questions remained about the need for continued US involvement in Europe as well as the possible inclusion of Russia into NATO, as postulated by then Acting President Vladimir Putin. NATO is therefore in the process of addressing such concerns, and its functions have tended to head towards crisis management and peacekeeping. It has, however, remained as the key European security institution, as reflected in the centrality of the organization in determining European security issues. Now, we will try to discuss whether the West Europe countries considered NATO as a burden or protector. As France, Germany and Britain were the superpowers, we will focus on these three West European countries.

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Germany and NATO

NATO has been important for Germany especially because of the value of the transatlantic partnership with the United States, which Germany believes to be an important anchor of its security policies. This is because American military ties to Europe have been essential towards maintaining peace and stability on the European continent. NATO has also been important in maintaining the strategic balance in Europe, and in offsetting Russias military power, especially since Germany lacks a nuclear arsenal, and has to depend on the US to provide such a security guarantee. An important aspect of German interests in NATO lies in the idea that the organization serves as an avenue for the denationalization of the German military, especially as seen in the Kosovo bombings. Consequently, Germanys involvement in NATO has served to address issues of increased German responsibility in security issues while at the same time allaying neighboring countries fears of a German military resurgence. In order to attain these aims in NATO, Germany has mainly sought to revitalize NATO in the wake of the Cold War. It has been critical in the development of NATOs post-1990 strategic concept, especially in the adaptation of NATOs nuclear policy of flexible response, altering it to promote no first use of nuclear weapons. In addition, Germany has also worked to change the nature of NATO itself, steering it from a defense organization to one actively participating in crisis prevention and management. The country has also been essential in reshaping NATOs conventional force structure, increasing military integration through the establishment of increased multinational units, which also helped to allay Germanys neighbors fears now that it was part of a multinational force committed to multilateral European security. In attempting to establish ties with Eastern and Central Europe, Germany has been instrumental in the development of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) with the aim of bringing together NATO countries and the former Soviet bloc states so as to stabilize the countrys eastern borders. It has also approached NATO enlargement in a similar manner, favoring a more conservative position so as not to isolate Russia.

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France and NATO

In the post-Cold War era, France has increased its appreciation of the transatlantic relationship with the US, and has seen NATO as a means of enhancing this partnership. This is because Paris, like Berlin, sees NATO as a means of anchoring the US to Europe, and the American military as a force to ensure the security of Europe, as can be seen from the Yugoslav and Kosovo crises. Moreover, an enlarged NATO with a strong integrated command, linked by charters to Russia and Eastern Europe, ensured the primacy of the organization over pan-European organizations like the OSCE. In addition, differences over the role of European security organizations like the WEU have relegated their importance as secondary to NATO, allowing the institution a greater contribution towards the security of Europe. However, despite French recognition that a US role is important to Europes security, the country has also expressed a desire to maintain its national independence, as can be seen by its military isolation from NATO until the late 1990s. This can be explained by the countrys reluctance to allow America to totally dominate the proceedings in Europe. Indeed the French agreed to NATOs Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) concept only because it allowed the country to join in peacekeeping operations without being a part of NATOs integrated military command. French interest in the WEU has been geared towards the promotion of European integration and the creation of an independent defense entity separate from the influences of the US and NATO. This is because France, like Germany, recognizes the importance of European autonomy, which it believes should exist alongside the NATO alliance. There was therefore a consequent shift from the 1980s stance that any European defense organization served merely as European pillar of NATO, towards the position that Europe deserved a more separate entity of its own. This can be reflected in the promotion of the Maastricht Treaty to bind Germany to a Western European alliance, as well as the promotion of the CFSP as a means of advancing European collective security in an era of German post-unification, so as to counterbalance the US influence in Europe. In addition, the development of the Eurocorps has also served to emphasize a French need for competing European and transatlantic security structures. Despite such French initiatives at creating a distinct European defense identity, the country also believes that in the short to medium term,

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European initiatives cannot replace the primacy of US-led NATO. Consequently, any WEU initiatives should only be made within the auspices of a NATO framework, embodying the policy of NATO first, Europe second. To this end, France has pursued a different path from Germany, and rejected the idea of totally integrating the WEU and the EU, proposing that the WEU should serve only as the defense arm of the EU.

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Britain and NATO

Like Germany and France, Britain believes that America should be involved in European security. This has resulted in London adopting a strongly positive stance towards NATO, as reflected in its belief that European security should be underwritten by a strong US/NATO leadership. NATOs importance is therefore linked to the value ascribed to transatlantic debates and armament cooperation. In addition to the primary role of NATO as a means to engage the US in Europe, Britain also values the organization as a credible and effective guarantee of its members territory, especially in the peaceful engagement of military forces within the continent, with the aim of maintaining the security of Europe as a whole. To this end, Britain has consistently pursued policy measures increasing its role in NATO, such as by undertaking a leading role among the European powers in NATOs Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). This involved a British commitment of at least 8 out of the 15 initial brigades constituting the initial ARRC force. By adopting such a leading posture in the ARRC, Londons leadership of the European NATO countries was confirmed within the context of a NATO-led security system. In addition to British involvement in the ARRC, the country was also supportive of NATOs initiatives to be linked to the peacekeeping process. This could be seen in the British acceptance of NATOs role as an organizing body for the peacekeeping needs of both the UN and the OSCE. Despite Britains strong support of NATOs operations in Europe, the country is hesitant to expand NATO membership because it is cautious about having to guarantee the territorial sovereignty of additional states. In addition, if states are admitted to NATO because they are free democracies, there is the possibility of having to agree to Russian membership or face a destabilization of ties with Moscow, especially if it was to be refused membership. Unlike Germany and France, Britain views the WEU primarily as a means of strengthening the European pillar of its Atlantic alliance, and not purely to promote greater Europeanization. Consequently, London holds the view that any European security framework should be complimentary to NATO, even though it promotes a European identity independent of NATO. To this effect, the WEU could be involved directly in peacekeeping operations either

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as a secondary role to NATO or in the event of US disinterest. This is not to mean that European interests should be subjugated to US interests, but should be viewed more as a hedge against overwhelming American influence in Europe, as can be seen in the British refusal to lift the Bosnian arms embargo in 1993. So, we can see that that in most cases West Europe considered NATO as protector. But at the same time, West European countries were very much conscious of their national independence. So, to some extent, West European countries considered NATO as burden it was hindering their national independence in one way or other.

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West Europe and the USA

In any discussion on the construction of Western European security, it is important to consider the role of the United States. This is because America has been a crucial player in European security since the post-World War Two reconstruction of the continent, which left the country facing its Cold War foe, the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the important Atlantic relationship did not diminish in significance, and was instead strengthened, reaffirming the primacy of America in European security. This continued significance of the US to post-Cold War Europe can be explained by two main reasons the remaining possibility of a Russian threat and the lack of European unity and strength.

A Poster on the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia A continued need for the US to serve as a European power can be seen by Western Europes lack of military strength as well as its failure to agree on a cohesive collective security policy. This is illustrated by the decreased military spending policies in Western Europe despite American calls for increased burden sharing, which have led to concerns that European nations are free riders in preserving continental security. There has also been the failure of consensus among Western European nations with regards to European security arrangements such as the European Security and Defense Identity (EDSI) and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). This lack of a cohesive European response to crises has ensured the USs primacy in ensuring European security, as can be seen by the increased role of US-led NATO in the Balkans.

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In attempt to retain control over Western Europe, as in the Cold War years, Washington has utilized NATO as its institution of choice in post-Cold War Europe. This can be seen through the numerous changes America has initiated in NATO to facilitate the evolution of the organization to a post-Cold War world. For instance, the development of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) was initiated to promote rapprochement with former Communist states as part of Americas Partnership for Peace (PfP) efforts. In addition, NATOs Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) concept enabled America to assert leadership in European security because it retained veto power over use of NATO assets despite allowing the WEU the power to use the CJTF for its initiatives such as the CFSP. Similarly, Western Europes efforts at developing an EDSI were allowed to continue provided it established the US as the cornerstone of its policy, and operated only as a European pillar within NATO. This was similar to the US agreement to the WEU being the defense arm of the EU only if it acknowledged the primacy of NATO in the European security arena. As can be seen in all these multilateral agreements, the US allowed Western Europe greater autonomy in European affairs, but only if it acknowledged the continued significance of Americas role in Europe. So, we can see that that in most cases, West Europe considered NATO as protector. But at the same time, West European countries were very much conscious of their national independence. So, to some extent, West European countries considered NATO as burden it was hindering their national independence in one way or other.

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Conclusion
The shaping of European security is a delicate process involving a consensus in foreign policy making by the major Western European actors of Germany, France and Britain, as well as by the only superpower of the post-Cold War world, the United States. In their search for a consensus on the new security structure, these four major powers have modified some of their foreign policy preferences in exchange for the acceptance of some of their other policy objectives. This can be seen not only in the multilateral discussions, but in the bilateral relationships such as the Franco-German partnership or the Anglo-American friendship. Hence, the shaping of post-Cold War European security has been through interplay of power between these four major countries, which has been the underlying issue behind the tensions of European assertiveness and American dominance. One of the most realistic future partners to NATO would be The Western European Union (WEU) which was formed in 1955 as a result of the failure of the European Defense Community (EDC). The WEU has followed the work of NATO. There is a string case for improving coordination between the two international institutions. The objective of WEU is to build up WEU in stages as the defense component of the European Union. To this end, WEU is prepared, at the request of the European Union, to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the union which have defense implications. Furthermore, WEU may become an important link between NATO and the European Union. We can assume that there is a future for NATO, even though the institution has not got any principal enemies (such as the threat from the former Warsaw pact). The North Atlantic Treaty Organization can effectively coordinate its efforts, and its military power with the activities of the Western European Union. At the end of the day the quote of Lewis Gaddis, the biographer of George F. Kennan, can be depicted. American imperial powerhas been a remarkable force for good, for democracy, for prosperity.

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13 Whether West Europe Considered NATO as Burden or Protector