The March 29 op-ed “A righteous engagement” (p. 5) by Alan Elias called the current NATO operations in Kosovo a “righteous engagement” that will allow the United States to reach its “rendezvous with destiny.” While no one arguing against the airstrikes believes that Serbia should be allowed to continue murdering Albanian Kosovars, the use of NATO as the means of stopping the violence is not “righteous.” It is unnecessary and will only exacerbate the situation.
NATO was created to provide Europe with the protective umbrella of America’s nuclear arsenal against the Soviet Union. Its role evolved steadily until 1989, when the Cold War ended. Now we have a collective security agreement with nothing to secure. Instead of following in the footsteps of its opponent, the Warsaw Pact, NATO did not dissolve. Instead, it blundered about and finally determined that its new mission was to “promote democracy.”
But instead of promoting democracy, we find NATO launching air strikes against Serbia. NATO’s mission there is to stop the Serbs and their ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo. NATO is being used in a situation for which it was not designed.
NATO’s prime mission is not to promote democracy or to save Kosovo. NATO’s prime mission is to find a reason to exist. In a multipolar world with no obvious threats, a large and unwieldy collective security arrangement is about as useful as a fork for eating soup.
NATO has no purpose, besides creating crises for it to solve. These airstrikes are a furtherance of this policy. All NATO has managed to do with Operation Allied Force is enrage the Russians, set back U.S.-Russian relations and give the Serbs more reasons to kill Kosovars.
The United States needs to look closely at NATO and determine whether or not it should continue to exist. With a strong United Nations and a strong European Union, U.S. involvement in European affairs is not necessary any more. In the aftermath of World War II, Europe needed protection. In the current era, Europe needs autonomy.
It is the responsibility of this generation to carry the torch passed down to us by those who fought for freedom. But that torch need not be carried by NATO troops.
-The writer is a senior majoring in political science.
