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Article: NATO as a Security Organization: Implications for the Future Role and Survival of the Alliance
- Article from:
- RUSI Journal
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies Jun 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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On 16 August 2005, President George W Bush announced plans to significantly reduce forces in Europe and Asia, with some 30,000 troops due to leave Germany alone by 2010. Immediately, a spokesman of the then German opposition accused Washington of 'withdrawing from its responsibilities in NATO and thereby endangering security in Europe'.2 NATO's official response was muted, simply stating 'it was logical not to want maintain huge land forces in Europe so long after the collapse of the Soviet Union'.3 Fifteen years ago, the NATO statement would have been greeted with widespread scepticism; however, it would appear that in this case it is the German opposition which had failed to appreciate ...