NATO soul-searching

Russia isn’t invited to dinner with NATO tonight, but relations with Russia will definitely be discussed. The conflict between Russia and Georgia is causing some NATO members to demand a rethinking of whether the alliance should renew its focus on Europe, and the usability and sustainability of NATO forces. The NATO chief insists there’s no reason to make fundamental changes regarding its policies towards Russia or for Georgia or involvement in Afghanistan. That led to a question from the U.S.’s ambassador to NATO. The NATO chief says he will keep asking other NATO allies to do more, but he’s also giving reminders to McCain and Obama about stabilizing Afghanistan. The NATO chief may want more from all NATO members, but this analyst says even the head of NATO knows now is not a great time to be asking anyone to open their wallets. NATO won’t change its priorities in short time, but some are continuing to push to bring NATO troops closer to home.