By Rebecca Seawell
GCMC Public Affairs
UNTERSCHLEISSHEIM, Germany – From July 11-12, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and NATO cooperated to host a Distinguished Alumni Conference near Munich.
Twenty-one Marshall Center alumni including ambassadors, ministers and other high-level representatives from 20 nations gathered for the conference in Unterschleissheim to discuss NATO’s New Strategic Concept.
The group analyzed new security methods and debated the emerging security challenges for the alliance, specifically those relating to Article 5 of the NATO treaty and its emphasis on collective defense.
“NATO has to be prepared to address new kinds of threats,” said one of the distinguished speakers. "What Afghanistan has taught the alliance is that members should learn to adapt quickly and to expect the unexpected."
Additionally, participants discussed need to realign resources to in order to accomplish goals and how to relay NATO’s New Strategic Concept and its agenda to the public.
In the new decade, the old strategic concept is no longer as relevant, said Ankica Tomic, a minister of security from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“In my personal opinion, it could be dangerous for NATO to overtask itself – it should be limited to main threats or challenges for which NATO has the most appropriate tools,” Tomic said.
Dr. James MacDougall, the U.S. deputy director of the Marshall Center, said that the trianglular relationship between the EU, United States and Russia will also be important in forming the New Strategic Concept.
“It seems that Russia will be vital to stability and security in Europe,” he said.
Marshall Center Director Dr. John Rose said that there will be much discussion and debate concerning NATO’s future.
“There’s nothing more important than trying to figure out where we want to go and what we want to do. And that’s what this concept is trying to put together,” Rose said.
