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US adopts 'the more, the better' formula for NATO enlargement
AFP
May 2, 2002

The United States has signaled it might favor accepting more new members in NATO than currently anticipated, arguing that "the more allies we have, the better off we're going to be."

It also expressed its determination to press its European partners to boost their military capabilities, including making a contribution to President George W. Bush's missile defense program, despite strong reservations about it in many European capitals.

The statements came at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, which featured Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith among the key witnesses.

The issue of bringing new members into the 19-nation alliance will top the agenda at a NATO summit in Prague in November.

The applicants include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Albania.

But although no final selection has been made, experts had been pointing out until recently that about five of these candidates were most likely to make the cut.

According to the well-informed Republican Senator Richard Lugar, that unofficial list has now been expanded to seven to include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania.

But when asked if he believed the alliance could undergo an even "larger enlargement', Grossman answered without hesitation: "Yes, sir, I do."

"The events of September 11 show us that the more allies we have, the better off we're going to be," he continued. "The more allies we have to prosecute the war on terrorism, the better off we're going to be."

Both Grossman and Feith made clear the Bush administration remained dissatisfied with the contribution provided to the alliance by the European militaries, arguing that they lacked sufficient airlift and sealift capabilities and were not doing enough to defend the West against weapons of mass destruction.

"If we get to a point where it is the truth that the United States fights and NATO cleans up, or the United States fights and the European Union cleans up, that is bad for us, and it is very, very bad for our European allies," Grossman pointed out.

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