Five retired military strategists from key NATO countries — including Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Pres. Clinton and former NATO commander — have authored a manifesto on NATO’s future saying among other things that:

The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The goal of the manifesto, according to its authors, is to revive the troubled trans-atlantic alliance.

Huh?! How could a renewed emphasis on the preemptive use of nuclear weapons possibly promote NATO unity?! The authors apparently missed the Schultz-Perry-Kissinger-Nunn op-eds in the WSJ endorsing the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and less reliance on them in the meantime.

NATO sure could use a jolt of energy and some fresh thinking, particularly as European publics sour on the NATO mission in Afghanistan and the United States remains bogged down in Iraq (see my colleagues Larry Korb and Caroline Wadham’s stellar report on Afghanistan). But the manifesto’s Cold War-like emphasis on nuclear weapons is what will grab the headlines and could prejudice the rest of the report, which has plenty of food for thought. And that’s a real shame.

The other four strategists are General Klaus Naumann, Germany’s former top soldier and ex-chairman of Nato’s military committee; General Henk van den Breemen, former Dutch chief of staff; Admiral Jacques Lanxade, former French chief of staff; and Lord Inge, a British field marshal and ex-chief of the general staff and the defense staff. According to the Guardian, the manifesto has been presented to the Pentagon in Washington and to NATO’s secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, over the past 10 days.

Update: CSIS has the full manifesto, entitled “Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing Transatlantic Partnership,” available here. (Thanks Eli!)

Comment [27]