I think SECDEF Gates smiles when he sees it as well.
...nearly a decade after the Taliban were toppled from power in Afghanistan, Gates expressed concerns about NATO member nations’ level of commitment, suggesting that the political and cultural climates in Europe have caused the credibility of Article 5 to be called into question -- an aspect of NATO’s identity that the new concept should go further to restore, he added.
...
“I believe we have reached an inflection point, where much of the continent has gone too far in the other direction,” Gates said of contemporary Europe’s view of its security needs.. “The demilitarization of Europe -- where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it -- has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st.”It is at times like this that I think of our friend Admiral Stavridis. SACEUR is a tough job. He is a happy warrior though, he'll be fine.
"All of this should be a wake-up call that NATO needs serious, far-reaching, and immediate reforms to address a crisis that has been years in the making,” he said. “And unless the Strategic Concept spurs operational and institutional changes like those I just mentioned, it will not be worth the paper it is printed on.”
