BACKGROUND: NATO's new long-term strategy

Nov 19, 2010, 21:55 GMT

Lisbon - NATO's summit on Friday in Lisbon approved a new long-term plan to guide its military planning over the next decade. The main points of the 'strategic concept':

NEW WEAPONS AGAINST NEW THREATS

The strategy tells NATO to 'develop the capability to defend our populations and territories against ballistic missile attack ... and to prevent, detect, defend against and recover from cyberattacks.'

Individual NATO allies, especially the United States, have advanced capabilities in those areas, but the alliance as a whole has so far only taken small steps to deal with either threat.

The strategy calls for missile-defence cooperation with Russia. NATO and Russian leaders are to debate the idea on Saturday.

NEW ALLIES

The strategy calls for 'political dialogue and practical cooperation with any nations and relevant organizations across the globe that share our interest in peaceful international relations.'

It calls for improved operational cooperation with the United Nations and European Union. However, the language on the EU only commits NATO to trying to 'create more favourable circumstances' for cooperation, after Turkey opposed stronger language because of its feud with EU member Cyprus.

NEW APPROACH

The strategy says that NATO should adopt a 'comprehensive political, civilian and military approach' to future operations by improving its ability to help war-torn states build peacetime governments, alongside its ability to fight battles.

In particular, it says that the alliance will set up an 'appropriate but modest civilian crisis management capability' to liaise with civilian aid and reconstruction organizations.

It should 'develop the capability to train and develop local forces in crisis zones, so the local authorities are able ... to maintain security without international assistance.'

NEW BATTLEFIELDS FOR THE OLD MISSION

The strategy restates NATO's founding principle that its main task is to protect its members' territory, but says that in order to do so, it will have to be ready to operate around the world.

THE NUCLEAR QUESTION

The strategy commits NATO to maintaining 'an appropriate mix of nuclear and conventional forces,' calling its members' nuclear arsenals 'the supreme guarantee of the security of the allies.'

However, it says that the alliance will 'seek to create the conditions' for total nuclear disarmament, after Germany led a push for the eventual scrapping of nuclear weaponry.

Many of the changes proposed in the strategic concept stem from NATO's experiences in Afghanistan, where its lack of training facilities and its poor cooperation with bodies such as the EU have hamstrung many of its initiatives.

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