Gates says European aversion to military force is constraining NATO’s ability to fight
By APTuesday, February 23, 2010
Gates: Europe’s demilitarization has gone too far
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Europeans’ aversion to military force is limiting NATO’s ability to fight effectively.
In remarks to a forum on rewriting the basic mission plan for NATO, Gates called Tuesday for far-reaching reforms in an organization created 61 years ago as a political and military bulwark against the former Soviet Union.
He said the early successes of NATO in averting post-World War II eruptions of European conflict have led to a new set of concerns.
Gates also said the “demilitarization” of Europe has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security in the 21st century.
Gates was speaking to an audience filled with uniformed military officers from many of NATO’s 28 member countries.
