VIEWPOINT = Learning the lessons of history

Date: 12/09/02

By Lord Robertson

NATO has adapted to put the fight against terrorism at the core of its work.

IT HAS been only one year since the terrorist attacks that devastated the United States, and shook the world. Only far into the future will historians draw the final lessons of that tragic day, and its long-term implications for international security.

We do not have the luxury of waiting for the verdict of history before we craft our response. One clear lesson of 11 September 2001 is that we face immediate and deadly threats to our safety - threats against which we must act quickly and with determination, if we are to preserve our common security, and our values.

The danger posed by terrorism is brutally clear. We must also prepare to defend against biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear weapons, because 11 September proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there are people homicidal enough to use them.

Fortunately, this past year has also shown that the international community is up to the challenge. The response to the attacks in the US has been strong, consistent and global - both in taking on al-Qaeda, and in preparing to meet new threats in the long term.

NATO is at the core of both efforts. From the moment of the attacks, NATO and its members have stood shoulder to shoulder with the US. The invocation of Article 5, for the first time ever, symbolised that solidarity, and set the groundwork for the broad and profound assistance that NATO's members would provide.

By engaging allies and partners, NATO helped to build the broad coalition that is needed to fight international terrorism.

Alliance planes have patrolled US skies. NATO ships are backing up US vessels. Allied aircraft and soldiers are hunting al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, and have broken up al-Qaeda cells in the Balkans.

NATO forces are also at the core of the International Security Assistance Force that is keeping the peace in and around Kabul. And the Alliance has helped to build the broad coalition with its partners, including those in Central Asia. This is the kind of strong, immediate and sustained assistance that only NATO could provide.

The Alliance is also at the centre of the international community's adaptation to meet new threats long-term. NATO has adapted its policy to place the fight against terrorism at the core of its work.

The Alliance is also preparing to take on the challenge posed by weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will be better trained and equipped to protect themselves against weapons of mass destruction when they are deployed on missions, and to assist in protecting our populations against their potential use.

These adaptations will be taken forward at NATO's forthcoming summit in Prague. The Alliance is working to enhance its overall military capabilities because the past year has served as a vivid reminder that effective military capabilities remain essential to preserving our security.

To defeat those who pose a risk to our security, and also to give weight to international diplomacy, our forces must become better able to get to where they are needed, and to prevail. That effort within NATO - and complementary work in the European Union - will also get a boost at the Prague summit.

Finally, the past year has demonstrated the importance of ensuring that Europe and North America can continue to work together in security.

In the campaign against terrorism, transatlantic cooperation has been indispensable.

But Europe must be able to make a bigger and better contribution to deployed operations if allegations of US unilateralism are not to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

More defence spending, targeted in the right way, is the key, because even in the post-Cold War world, peace is not a free good - it is a return on investment.

Robert Schuman, one of the fathers of the EU, said: 'The lessons of history only stay learnt when they are embedded in institutions.'

Throughout its history, NATO has embodied key lessons of history: the necessity of resolute action to preserve our security; the requirement for effective military forces; and the importance of transatlantic cooperation.

11 September reconfirmed the enduring truth of those lessons and, as a result, reinforced the continuing importance of the Atlantic Alliance to preserving our security, and the safety of future generations.

• Lord Robertson is Secretary General of NATO.

An opinion article by the Secretary General of NATO discussing how the organisation has adapted to concentrate on the fight against terrorism.