NATO Support Research Articles

THE U.S. “WAR ON DRUGS” IN AFGHANISTAN

Mainstream commentary suggests that the United States and NATO are conducting a war on drugs in Afghanistan in order to reduce drug consumption in the West and Afghanistan and weaken the Taliban. Interpreting U.S. foreign policy from a critical political economic perspective, this article presents an alternative analysis, arguing thatWashington and NATO are not pursuing a real war on drugs in Afghanistan. This point is demonstrated by examining a number of aspects of the so-called war on drugs: the Taliban's relatively small role in drug trafficking; U.S./NATO support for proxy forces involved in the drug trade; the focus on poppy cultivation over drug money; the chemical precursor trade; money laundering; Western support for tobacco and alcohol industries; and the emphasis on overseas operations and enforcement and neglect of drug treatment and prevention. In each case, U.S./NATO policies directly support or tolerate the drug trade—the opposite of what a real war on drugs would entail. It is therefore suggested that the so-called war on drugs is better seen as a rhetorical device used by the U.S. to facilitate overseas military intervention and the fight against insurgents opposed to U.S. policies in Afghanistan.

Cilvil-military Interoperability in Support of NATO Emerging Security Challenges

A speech by the Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO International Staff, to the Second Workshop on Multinational Cooperation in Civil-Military Interoperability in Sofia, underlining the importance of civil-military interaction and multinational approaches in various frameworks, as well as their important contribution to allied and national capabilities to deal with new threats and challenges.

Counterinsurgency's Impossible Trilemma

Ever since the conventional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan turned into irregular conflicts, both students of war and practitioners have furiously debated counterinsurgency's logic, goals, and chances...

Years of Free-Riding? Canada, the New NATO, and Collective Crisis Management in Europe, 1989–2001

Most discussions about the impact of Afghanistan on the future of NATO focus on transatlantic relations between the United States and the European Union. But for Canada, which is one of the few NATO allies that voluntarily deployed into the south, facing heavy resistance and fighting from Taliban insurgents, the Afghanistan operations have become the most salient dimension of its continued involvement in the Atlantic Alliance. While this may seem surprising, given the cutbacks in Canadian defense spending in the 1990s and the withdrawal of Canada's standing forces from Germany, it should not. For during that so-called dark decade, Canada continued to make major contributions to NATO and European security. This essay argues that Ottawa's multi-faceted military and political support of the “new” NATO of the post–Cold War era continued when the alliance undertook its involvement in Afghanistan. Indeed, in its efforts in support of NATO's mission in Afghanistan, Canada has demonstrated a dedication to the alliance that seems stronger than NATO's collective commitment to itself.

Recommitment and Shared Interests: Progress and the Future of Afghan National Security

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been engaged in Afghanistan for over seven years. The perception of a growing insurgency has caused some commentators and nations to question the mission, challenge the financial costs or become weary of the fight. Others believe the success of ISAF's strategy in Afghanistan is not only possible, but likely with the steadfast military, political and economic support of NATO and the international community. The Commander of ISAF, General McKiernan, argues for a recommitment by NATO to the goals of the mission, an acceptance of long-term responsibility, and a realisation that the solution requires more than just military means to secure the region.

Günter Grass and his Critics: From 'The Tin Drum' to 'Crabwalk' by Siegfried MewsDer Fall Grass: Ein deutsches Debakel by Wolfgang Beutin

276 Reviews symbolic capital with regard toSchmidt's habitus ofself-stylization, thereis,rather sadly Imust admit, very little in thisvolume thatwe did not know already. KING'S COLLEGE LONDON ROBERTWENINGER Gunter Grass and his Critics: From 'The Tin Drum' to 'Crabwalk'. By SIEGFRIED MEWS. (Studiesin GermanLiterature, Linguistics andCulture: Literary Criti cism inPerspective) Rochester, NY: CamdenHouse. 2008. vii+426pp. $90; ?50. ISBN 978-1-57113-062-4. Der FallGrass:Eindeutsches Debakel. By WOLFGANG BEUTIN.Frankfurt a.M.:Peter Lang. 2008. 192 pp. ?18.50; ?12. ISBN 978-3-631-57004-3. Siegfried Mews's astoundingly well-researched critical overview ofGiinter Grass's reception isan essentialcompendiumforanybody workingon theauthor's prose fiction. Itilluminates theliterary-critical reception ofGrass inrespect ofall fifteen piecesof literary fiction and systematically analysessourcesranging from contem porarynewspaperreviewsin theGerman,US, and (to a lesserextent) UK and Frenchpress,through disparateresearch articles andchapters, tohighly specialized monographs. Consideration of the media responseto the2006 autobiography has been added in theepilogue. Mews discreetly sifts and evaluates hispress material andyetremains bothsubstantially more inclusive andmore critically focusedthan similar earlier studies(e.g.Blechgetrommelt: Gunter Grass inder Kritik, ed.by Heinz Ludwig Arnold (Gottingen: Steidl,1997)), so that hisbook stands outas a valuable toolforresearch. Particularly in thecase of lesscelebrated works suchasKopfge burten oderDie Deutschensterben aus andUnkenrufe, Mews significantly corrects thepictureof their contemporary reception not justby recording positivereviews butalsobystressing thedifferent sympathies andpriorities brought tothe works in different geographical locations. Yet thisisonlythetipof theiceberg. Inextending, bothchronologically and spatially, Volker Neuhaus's critical overview ofacademic scholarship on each literary work (Giinter Grass (Stuttgart: Metzler,1992)),Mews systematically bringsback to lightforgotten insights expressedin earlyand not alwayseasilyaccessiblearticles, aswell asdelineating the major themes, issues, and stylistic concernsthat underpinacademicdebateup to thepresent. This isabove all tobe welcomed in respect ofGrass's 'DanzigTrilogy', which has inspired a myriadof criticalapproachesand vastlydiffering interpretations over theyears. Althoughtheindexisa little disappointing ina research companionof thiscalibre (termssuch as 'religion'/'Christianity', 'politics','narrator'/'narration', 'teaching'/ 'pedagogy','masculinity', and 'gender' were all absent,despitetheirinclusionas interpretative categoriesin thetext), Mews's sixty-page bibliography of secondary sources outclassesallothercontemporary compilations on theauthor. Nobody working on Grass in the future-at whatever level-can afford not to have a copy of this book to hand. However, it should be noted thatMews neither expresses anypersonal, overarching interpretations ofeithertheauthor orhiswork, which it is probably unfair to expect from a companion of this sort, nor develops MLR, 104.1, 2009 277 anyobviouscritique or theory regarding thecritical reception as a phenomenonin its own right. This isan element orchapter onemight more reasonably havehoped for, and somekindofwider interpretative framework mighthave helpedguard againsttheobviousproblemsinherent in Mews's eclecticsource material.Sources andvoicesbegin to mergeand competeinan at timesrather bewildering manner ifone triesto read thebook as a narrative aboutGrass's authorialsignificance, while theverynatureofGrass's relationship tohiscritics means that chapters can appearrepetitive. By thesametoken, onehardlyreadsan encyclopedia from cover tocover, but isoftenincredibly grateful thatitisthere. Mews's critical compendium of source materialfulfils justsucha function, and everylibrary withholdingsin contemporary German literature shouldhavea copy. No suchstatement can bemade about WolfgangBeutin'sDer Fall Grass:Ein deutsches Debakel.Thebook setsout tobe a 'schmale kritische Schrift', but itsoon revealsitself tobe aKampfschrift ofthe worstsort. Beutin's main argument appears tobe that Grass isa shoddy writer, withhitherto unrecognized right-wing tenden ciesandamuddledandself-contradictory political presencethat bringstheentirety ofpost-war German societyintodisrepute. He availshimself ofno recognizable critical apparatusinordertosetaboutsubstantiating theseclaims. Not onlydoes thebook lackanybibliography, Beutinmakes no reference toanyotherscholarly worksonGrass throughout, and this despitethefactthat he isnominally discussing Die Blechtrommel, ImKrebsgang, BeimHdutenderZwiebel, and the1968collection ofessays Uberdas Selbstverstandliche, which includes manyof the most frequently referenced politicalpiecesfrom that period.Politicalantipathy evidently motivates mostofwhathewrites: much,ofcourse,is made ofthe2006 Waffen-SS revelations, but Grass's support ofNATO involvement inKosovo in 1998 is also held against the author with tedious andoften misplaced frequency. A thoroughly confusedimage ofGrass as a political commentator emerges, based on theworst possible scholarly practice. Not onlydoesBeutinlimit himself almostexclusively toone smallvolume of speechesfromthe196os,entirely discounting thespecifics of thisdecade and quotingoutofcontextthroughout, he also statesas fact wild conspiracy theories abouthow the media and the German intellectual community propelled Grass to fame andhavesubsequently kepthiminthespotlight. His literary criticism amounts to two chapters inwhich he tries to correct Grass's grammar and style.Yet Beutin's own textisexceedingly poorly written, lurching fromtabular lists andbullet-point insertions to Bild-style sensationalist sentences, personalanecdote, and inappropri atepolitical polemics. The introduction losesitself entirely inabullet-point critique ofcontemporary...

Resisting an Oppressive Regime: The Case of Kosovo Liberation Army

Although no war faction escapes controversy, it is often said that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is one of the most successful guerrilla movements in recent history. This article suggests that KLA's success can be attributed to the symbiosis between national and international legitimacy. The guerrilla's mission should be understood in the context of persistent oppression of the Kosovo Albanians by Serbian governments. Whilst failure of peaceful resistance enabled KLA's national legitimation, its tactics and strategy acted as a force multiplier for its recognition and success. KLA's resilience in the face of vicious Serbian suppression of Kosovo Albanians raised international awareness and prompted NATO's support, an act that contributed to guerrillas’ endorsement at the international level.

International Symposium with NATO support on the problem of extreme hydrologic events

International Symposium with NATO support on the problem of extreme hydrologic events

Changing Patterns of Civil-Military Relations in Southeastern Europe

Marian Zulean works for the office of the Romanian president as an expert on NATO and U.S. issues. This essay has been written with the support of a NATO-Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council research fellowship. An earlier version was presented at the 2002 International Political Science Association's international conference “Globalization of Civil-Military Relations:Democratization, Reform, and Security.” The author would like to acknowledge the support of NATO's Academic Office and Constantine Danopoulos.

Arm in arm after the cold war? The uneasy NATO‐un relationship

The two organizations, NATO and the UN, which independently did much to shape the Cold War world have suddenly been thrown together by the circumstances of the first ever UN military operation on mainland European soil, where NATO support, out‐of‐area, has been made available to the UN. However, the experience has proved a chastening one. There are major problems in co‐ordinating and accommodating the differing requirements and attitudes of the two organizations. The conflicting agendas of the three Permanent Members of the Security Council, who are also major actors in NATO, emphasize that without consensus neither organization can work effectively, let alone in tandem. The situation has been exacerbated by the arrangement whereby the Representative of the UN Secretary‐General makes what in effect are tactical decisions without having the appropriate support to do so. The experience has seriously damaged the reputation of both organizations and could have lasting detrimental effects on their relationship unless measures are taken to redress the shortcomings in the mechanisms of co‐operation.

American power: Support of NATO's southern flank

American power: Support of NATO's southern flank

Review of "Statistical Distributions in Scientific Work, by G. P. Patil, S. Kotz and J. K. Ord"

This is a collection of papers presented at a NATO advanced Study Institute, "The International Conference on Characterizations and Statistical Distributions with Applications." The ASI was held at the University of Calgary, Canada 29 July - 10 August 1974 under the direction of Dr. Patil. It was sponsored by the International Statistical Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University of Calgary and the Indian Statistical Institute with the support of NATO, the National Research Council of Canada and the U.S. Army Research Office.