Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

level of commitment among <strong>NATO</strong> member states.
There was particular attention focused on the lack
of German participation. There was also quite a high
level of absenteeism from key aspects of the operation.
So, while formally a <strong>NATO</strong> operation, it was in reality
more a collection of 15 <strong>NATO</strong> members who took
part. This only added ammunition to the locker of
those wondering whether the “alliance” is not, in fact,
devolving to a loose assemblage of pick-<strong>and</strong>-choose
members.
Clearly, any new stirrings of concern on that front
will play into the nuclear debate. So too the fact that,
from the perspective of Washington, while Operation
UNIFIED PROTECTOR was meant to be a Europe-led
operation, the United States still ended up not only
committing more resources than any other nation, but
also providing capabilities which—while they may
have been perceived in Europe as simply supportive
<strong>and</strong> enabling—actually made the difference between
sustaining the operation <strong>and</strong> not. In an atmosphere
in which the renewed perception in Washington is of
a Europe failing the burden-sharing tests, there is a
danger for the European allies that nuclear burdensharing
will become the test of last resort.
As has been emphasized, the fact is that there is no
collective “European perspective” on these questions.
Perceptions of what amounts to security, <strong>and</strong> where
the threats to security lie, remain in a state of continuing
development. In addition to a legacy of historical
perspective <strong>and</strong> geography, it is also being shaped by
the different experiences of member states in the new
age of austerity. The dynamic of the slow extraction
from Afghanistan, <strong>and</strong> evolving judgments on the
costs <strong>and</strong> benefits of that mission, will shape attitudes
toward <strong>NATO</strong> <strong>and</strong> what it is for. The lessons of Af-
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