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The Unfi nished Chapter of <strong>Europe</strong>... – A conversation with Damon Wilson<br />
will be a turning point in the Alliance’s<br />
involvement and commitment – particularly<br />
in Afghanistan. And while I think<br />
Secretary Gates has been clear that there<br />
should be no rush for the exits, Osama<br />
bin Laden’s downfall will be the turning<br />
point towards the end of a major Alliance<br />
commitment in Afghanistan that<br />
has spanned the last decade.<br />
Th is will ease up some of the burden,<br />
over time, on the Central <strong>Europe</strong>an forces<br />
that have been deployed in that region.<br />
It is very expensive for these countries<br />
to sustain deployments far from home,<br />
and ending this engagement will allow<br />
them to reinvest in their own defence<br />
programmes.<br />
Secondly, Osama bin Laden’s death<br />
does not end Islamic extremism, and<br />
I think the locus of that concern is in<br />
the northern Caucasus, which will have<br />
an increasing impact on <strong>Europe</strong>. I fear<br />
that the Russians are continuing to lose<br />
control of that area and the Islamic<br />
communities there. It is very risky for<br />
<strong>Europe</strong>an interests, our interests in the<br />
Black Sea and particularly our interest<br />
in a Georgia that can join the West.<br />
We need to work more with Russia to<br />
help it understand that it shouldn’t be<br />
concerned about Zapad military exercises<br />
(army drills simulating a NATO<br />
off ensive – editor’s note) and a planned<br />
invasion of Poland, but rather, that Russia<br />
needs to be focused on how to maintain<br />
order in its own soft-underbelly.<br />
I think this is one of the things that we<br />
may come to focus on in a post-Osama<br />
bin Laden era.<br />
Interview 93<br />
What is the key take away message<br />
from this year’s Wrocław Global Forum –<br />
an event co-sponsored by the Atlantic<br />
Council? (The interview took place at the<br />
Wrocław Global Forum – editor’s note)<br />
Th e key take away message for me is<br />
that the Wrocław forum has provided<br />
an emotional and sentimental backdrop<br />
for the Annual Freedom Awards that the<br />
Atlantic Council gives every year. Th ere<br />
is power in the combination of being<br />
in a city referred to as a microcosm of<br />
Central <strong>Europe</strong>, the substantive issues<br />
on the agenda at the forum and the inspiration<br />
and symbolism of the Freedom<br />
awards. Th is power is demonstrated in<br />
the transatlantic partnership. For me<br />
this power is our history. In 1989, the<br />
United States and <strong>Europe</strong> came together<br />
and forged a historic response to a historic<br />
situation.<br />
Although it was not clear at fi rst, we<br />
were soon able to open up our institutions<br />
and our community to the East.<br />
What is more, we were able to open up<br />
our treasuries to help ensure the security<br />
and stability of a free democratic Central<br />
<strong>Europe</strong>. Th e key question that I take away<br />
from the discussions that we have had<br />
here in Wrocław is: can the transatlantic<br />
community today – which includes<br />
Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary<br />
and Slovakia – put together a historic<br />
response to the historic developments<br />
that are happening to our South, in the<br />
Middle East and North Africa?<br />
I do not know if we have this ability. I do<br />
not know if we have the vision, the will or<br />
the resources. I think it is imperative that
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