4.7: Missions Outside Alliance Borders

[Issue] guidelines for informing NATO decision-making with respect to undertaking new missions or responsibilities.

Other Information:

Guidelines for Missions Outside Alliance Borders. For all its assets, NATO is by no means the sole answer to every problem affecting international security. NATO is a regional, not a global organisation; its financial resources are limited and subject to other priorities; and it has no desire to take on missions that other institutions and countries can be counted upon to handle. Accordingly, the new Strategic Concept should prescribe guidelines for the Alliance as it makes decisions about when and where to apply resources beyond its borders. Because every situation is unique, NATO decision-making can only be made on a case-by-case basis. However, deliberations within the NAC should give weight to such factors as: the extent and imminence of danger to Alliance members; the exhaustion or apparent ineffectiveness of alternative steps; the ability and willingness of NATO members to provide the means required for success; the involvement of partners in helping to ensure an effective and timely remedy to the problem at hand; the collateral impact on other NATO missions and needs; the degree of domestic and international public support; conformity with international law; and the foreseeable consequences of inaction. In the future as in the past, NATO leaders should bear in mind two cautions: NATO's commitments should never exceed what the Alliance can do; but what NATO can do should never be outpaced by NATO's security needs. The Alliance cannot be so ambitious that it takes on jobs that it is unprepared to perform, but neither can it be so lethargic that it fails to prepare itself for necessary tasks. Accordingly, the Strategic Concept should include a clear statement of defence priorities. These begin with the ability to defend Alliance territory, but include the capacity to undertake demanding missions at strategic distance, help shape the international security landscape, and respond to unpredictable contingencies when and where that is required. NATO's official Level of Ambition was set out in 2006; there is no need to modify those benchmarks, although the definition of mission could be broadened to include new requirements for homeland security, including cyber security. It is a truism that NATO cannot succeed without the support of its members. Similarly, NATO missions will not go well for long unless they are understood and embraced by the populations of NATO countries. Such backing cannot be taken for granted. The more open NATO leaders are in their deliberations, and the more clearly they explain the specific goals and rationale for NATO participation in any operation, the more likely it is that the Alliance will be able to attract the level of popular and parliamentary support it must have to fulfil its missions. Recommendations: 1. The Strategic Concept should include a set of guidelines for informing NATO decision-making with respect to undertaking new missions or responsibilities.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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