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

arguments by <strong>and</strong> large did not weaken the Alliance
during its first 4 decades due to the Soviet Union’s
perceived existing threat to transatlantic security.
With the end of the Cold War, <strong>NATO</strong>’s enlargement
to 28 members, <strong>and</strong> its progressively greater involvement
in a range of operational activities, the burdensharing
debate arguably has gained in prominence
<strong>and</strong> intensity.
The Bosnian <strong>and</strong> Kosovo interventions, beginning
in 1995 <strong>and</strong> 1999, respectively, provided a taste
of what was to follow. In the latter case, for example,
U.S. pilots flew the overwhelming majority of missions
throughout the 78-day campaign, although the
participation of a small number of non-U.S. Allies increased
toward the end of the operation. While these
missions <strong>and</strong> subsequent post-conflict stabilization efforts
by ground forces were not risk-free, no <strong>NATO</strong>
military personnel were reported killed in combat.
In contrast, <strong>NATO</strong>’s involvement in Afghanistan,
especially since ISAF exp<strong>and</strong>ed into Talibancontrolled
areas in 2006, has at times exposed serious
tensions among the Allies related to burden-sharing.
European Allies <strong>and</strong> Canada have suffered about onethird
of the combat deaths among ISAF forces, with
several suffering higher losses per capita than the
United States. But <strong>NATO</strong> has had to cope with “caveats”—that
is, restrictions imposed by some Allied governments
or their parliaments on how <strong>and</strong> where their
forces can be employed—<strong>and</strong> these have provoked
both transatlantic <strong>and</strong> intra-European recriminations.
For example, most of the nearly 4,700 German troops
are effectively barred by the Bundestag from operating
outside the northern region, <strong>and</strong> Turkey allows its
1,800 troops to operate only in or near Kabul. Some
Allied troops are prohibited from conducting night-
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