Perhaps it was just as well that the military bands and the ceremonial fly-overs were scrapped this weekend in commemoration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 50th birthday. Instead, the member nations will engage in a Kosovo crisis session. Celebrations never are appropriate during times of war.
But if nobody takes the time to at least note NATO's remarkable story, if nobody makes a point of the most successful alliance in world history, that would be unfortunate. The Kosovo crisis is a turning point for NATO, an expansion of its traditional role as a protector of its member states. But it must not be allowed to diminish a noble history.When Britain's foreign secretary, Ernest Brevin, conceived the idea of NATO in 1948, he saw it as a way to stem Soviet aggression. At the time, Europe was in ruins and vulnerable to the terrorism of communist expansion. He believed that could be prevented only "by the mobilization of such moral and material force as would create confidence and energy on the one side and inspire respect and caution on the other."
At its core, NATO exists as a testament to the idea that the United States has a profound interest in the freedom and security of European nations. That is an idea forged by the heat of two world wars, and it remains sound, both for strategic and humanitarian reasons. Without question, NATO inhibited the expansion of the Soviet Union while it brought stability to Western Europe. The pledge that every nation would defend threats to the borders of any one member nation was a powerful deterrent.
When the Cold War ended, many questioned the need to continue such an alliance. But threats to freedom did not diminish; neither did the European continent diminish in its importance to the United States.
Critics may rightfully question whether NATO's aggressive action in Yugoslavia was proper under the original mission of the alliance. Indeed, the current struggle could change the nature of the alliance forever. But don't forget the underlying premise of the attack, which was that Slobodan Milosevic represented a threat to regional security; that his atrocities posed a danger to the borders of NATO states.
A free Europe still is vital to U.S. interests and to the security of the world. NATO's recent expansion into Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic demonstrates how its umbrella can encourage reforms and freedom.
Perhaps no one is in the mood for a big celebration, but the best present NATO could receive is a commitment from its members to maintain the alliance no matter what happens.