NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary on April 4, 2024.
Current Concerns concerning NATO:
- Changed Objective: NATO was formed to defend its member states from assault, but it has also engaged in offensive military engagements.
- Causes of global military conflicts: Over the last seven decades, NATO has launched or participated in over 200 military confrontations, many of which have been serious. NATO’s military actions have included bombing Yugoslavia, invading Iraq, disrupting sovereignty in Libya, interfering in Syria, and combatting terrorism in Afghanistan.
- Role in the formation of ISIS: Critics believe that NATO’s operations have resulted in damage, casualties, destruction, and estrangement, rather than peace and stability. There is a belief that the United States, as NATO’s leader, played a part in the formation of ISIS.
- Provoking the Russia-Ukraine War: Despite claims to the contrary, its expansion since 1991, as well as its actions in Ukraine, are viewed as provocative towards Russia. Russia has showed caution in reaction to NATO’s activities, but NATO’s behaviour has not changed.
- Maintaining Western Hegemony: In direct contrast to its professed peaceful objectives, NATO engages in conflict or issues threats of attack against any state that rejects the established liberal “rules-based order.” for example, invasion of Iraq and execution of Saddam Hussein.
- Increased presence in the Indo-Pacific: The United States has been aggressively building smaller multilateral arrangements, including as AUKUS, the US-Japan-South Korea trio, and the Tokyo-Seoul-Canberra-Wellington quartet, to engage them in practical cooperation with NATO.
Conclusion:
NATO, which was created in 1949 for collective defence, is under fire for engaging in offensive acts, producing global crises, and being accused of establishing ISIS and inciting tensions with Russia. Its roles have grown and diversified beyond their initial aim.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/at-75-nato-sees-reasons-to-rejoice-facts-suggest-otherwise-9249830/