Friday, March 21, 2008
French Announcement and NATO Reaction
Synchronizing with Richard Weitz's call for arms control to move beyond "just" the bilateral U.S.-Russia relationship, President Sarkozy today announced a 1/3 cut in the size of the French nuclear force. Interesting, though, that he cited Iran as one of the ongoing threats to Europe that requires a continued possession of a deterrent capability.
One reaction to my NATO piece that I received reports that the U.S. strategy in trying to convince reluctant European states to endorse expansion plans for the alliance at the Bucharest summit is to ask them not to veto anything at Bucharest and let the devil work itself out through the details. In other words, extend invitations to the Balkan states and MAPs to Ukraine and Georgia--to prevent any sense of trans-Atlantic disunity--and then let the process get slowed down. Perhaps this is the "compromise" that we'll see proffered.
One reaction to my NATO piece that I received reports that the U.S. strategy in trying to convince reluctant European states to endorse expansion plans for the alliance at the Bucharest summit is to ask them not to veto anything at Bucharest and let the devil work itself out through the details. In other words, extend invitations to the Balkan states and MAPs to Ukraine and Georgia--to prevent any sense of trans-Atlantic disunity--and then let the process get slowed down. Perhaps this is the "compromise" that we'll see proffered.
