From Steven Erlanger, the New York Times: NATO must be willing to fight and operate far from its borders to defend its members in a new world of terrorism, piracy and cyberattacks, according to a proposed strategy for the alliance released Monday.
The proposal, “NATO 2020,” also urges the alliance to restore credibility to its pledge of collective security, which it said was a prerequisite for efforts farther afield.
“NATO must be versatile and efficient enough to operate far from home,” former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, who led a team of experts in writing the report, said at a news conference in Brussels. “In order to sustain the political will for operations outside its area, NATO must see that all its members are reassured about the security of their home territories. …”
“In today’s world we may have to go beyond our borders to defend our borders,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance’s secretary general. “I can mention Afghanistan as a case in point.” (photo: NATO)