Last week, NATO held its second round of expansion since the Cold War ended, admitting some of the countries that made up the Warsaw Pact (Romania, Bulgaria), and even some countries that made up the former Soviet Union itself (the three Baltic countries). Russia, of course, has expressed some concern over NATO’s expansion, and even hinted darkly at a renewed arms race.
Wouldn’t it make sense to alleviate Russia’s fears and concerns by simply admitting them to NATO as a full-fledged member, thus giving them an equal say in the Alliance’s decision-making? Russia is already part of the Russia-NATO Council, in which Russia is granted a voice in NATO decisions, but it seems more of a symbolic rather than an actual substantive role. Why not just fully admit Russia, who is now more than ever a crucial ally on the War against Terror?
What would be the possible obstacles(s) to admitting Russia as a full-fledged member of NATO? The ones that I can think of are:
the militaries of NATO members have equipment standards that may be incompatible with the standards that exist in the Russian military, thus creating a logistical nightmare if they were to be combined.
Russia may be reluctant to join a military alliance in which the US is the leading dominant force; feathers would undoubtedly be ruffled if Moscow would have to end up taking direct orders from Washington.
Are there any other legitimate reasons why NATO wouldn’t admit Russia as a full-fledged member?
Let’s not forget that NATO remains a military alliance; Russia still has a number of potential enemies in the world and the western powers may be reluctant to commit themselves to backing Russia against any possible future attack.
Of course, any country is any other country’s potential enemy, but realistically, which countries would pose a threat to Russia? Surely, no country in its right mind would dare to invade Russia, considering its still extremely potent nuclear arsenal. China is the only country that would come to mind that would pose any sort of a threat to Russia, but recently, the two countries signed a “Friendship Agreement” which seems to bind the two countries rather closely with each other. I’m at a loss to think of any other non-NATO countries which would pose a military threat to Russia…
From Russia’s perspective, it makes no sense to subordinate themselves to the US (since we basically make NATO policy) when they can negotiate with us as equals and maintain their ties to China. They can play the US and China against each other, make bold statements about “Friendship” and “Openness,” and still maintain their sovereignty.
Joining the NATO alliance could draw them into any number of conflicts, whereas their current independence allows them to be everybody’s friend at once (which means they can sell military hardware to China, Iran, and N. Korea, and also take our money for “force reductions” and “anti-proliferation projects”).
The main problem, as has been alluded to but not stated, is the widely divergent worldview of NATO members and Russia. The 1999 war in Kosovo showed a split between Russia and NATO countries - hell, the whole reason NATO carried out the war is that Russia refused to relent on a veto threat in the UN Security Council.
Taking that experience under one’s belt, and considering the brutal war Russia has continued in Chechnya, it is not difficult to see that Russia joining NATO as a full member could easily lead to significant discord within the alliance.
That’s not the best example, IMHO. Russia’s reluctance to join that fight was more a matter of not wanting to bomb its Slavic bretheren than anything else.
There are many world conflicts – current or future – on which the U.S./NATO and Russia may see things the same way.
Geopolitically, Russia today is a far cry from the former U.S.S.R. – i.e., no desire (or economic ability) to resume the Cold War.
NATO was formed in 1949 with the express purpose of defending Western Europe against the Soviet menace. Today, that menace is long gone, and with NATO rapidly accepting new members, one of two things could possibly happen:
NATO admits its main former adversary as a full-fledged member (just as it did with the other former Warsaw Pact nations)
or
NATO’s raison d’être is seriously called into question. Already, this has been done when France and Germany recently proposed having an All-European military force outside of NATO’s jurisdiction.
Also, what will happen if the EU accepts Russia as a member? Would NATO membership be easier to swallow for everyone if Russia’s economy and monetary system are eventually integrated into Western Europe’s?
Actually, kids, NATO, like CENTO and SEATO, is *not * a defensive organization at all. It was just another military alliance against the Soviet Union, after the old Anti-Commintern pact of the fascists was defeated. Now it is directed against Russia and serves as a tool of US domination over Europe.
I’m surprised that there is not a serious movement afoot in Europe to disband it and to form a purely *European * alliance.
