NATO’s chief and the politics of intervention

Poor Anders Fogh Rasmussen.  NATO’s top civilian official faces constant enquiries on whether the alliance will take action in Libya. He has to say something, but ultimately it’s not his decision to take, and the alliance’s membership is quite divided about whether it should even consider action. Trying to track the debate within the United ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Poor Anders Fogh Rasmussen.  NATO's top civilian official faces constant enquiries on whether the alliance will take action in Libya. He has to say something, but ultimately it's not his decision to take, and the alliance's membership is quite divided about whether it should even consider action. Trying to track the debate within the United States is hard enough; Rasmussen needs to keep an eye on the political dynamics in all 28 member countries.  And so he is left trying to be all things to all people:

Poor Anders Fogh Rasmussen.  NATO’s top civilian official faces constant enquiries on whether the alliance will take action in Libya. He has to say something, but ultimately it’s not his decision to take, and the alliance’s membership is quite divided about whether it should even consider action. Trying to track the debate within the United States is hard enough; Rasmussen needs to keep an eye on the political dynamics in all 28 member countries.  And so he is left trying to be all things to all people:

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday the alliance was not looking to intervene in Libya but its military was ready to respond to any developments at short notice.

Rasmussen said any action would require a clear United Nations mandate and widespread international support.

"NATO is not looking to intervene in Libya, but we have asked our military to conduct prudent planning for all eventualities," Rasmussen told Britain’s Sky News.

"If requested and if needed we can respond at very short notice. There are a lot of sensitivities in the region as regards with what might be considered foreign military interference.

It is notable that Rasmussen believes UN authorization is a requirement. In Kosovo, of course, the alliance waged war without UN approval. It’s not clear whether his statement reflects the new considered view of the NATO membership or whether he’s merely trying to throw up obstacles to an idea he considers unwise.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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