Is NATO Obsolete?

Event Details

Richard Kugler, a RAND Corporation analyst and longtime advisor to various officials in the Defense Department, addresses the questions of NATO?s necessity in a post Cold War international environment. Kugler argues that NATO is by no means obsolete but rather is central to the security of Europe. He does, however, caution that the organization needs to expand its scope to maintain functionality. Specifically he argues that NATO must focus on the ?arc of crisis?, or the region of East Europe stretching from Poland to Turkey. He expresses special concern over the conflict in the Balkans, emerging rivalries in the former Soviet Bloc, Russian aggression, and German-Russian competition. He advises that NATO expand its membership and revise its goals so as to ?export security?.