31 October 2002
NATO says could launch pre-emptive strikes
By Adam Tanner

"I would not exclude the possibility of NATO acting pre-emptively at some point in the future," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told journalists in Berlin on Thursday.

"But I would also not say that this is the answer to every situation that NATO would face. Certainly it depends on the situation."

U.S. President George W. Bush has moved beyond Washington's half-century-old strategy of deterrence and said the country will launch pre-emptive military strikes when necessary rather than waiting to be attacked by terror groups or rogue states.

But most European allies oppose the idea of pre-emption, especially without a United Nations mandate to use force.

Under the logic of deterrence, an adversary is kept from taking hostile action by fear of massive military retaliation.

"The deterrent power of the United States did not seem to deter al Qaeda in attacking us," the official said. "Pre-emptive action, in certain circumstances, when you have good intelligence, may be the way forward.

"But we are not asserting as a country, as a government, that that is the answer to every security problem around the world."

COLLECTIVE DEFENCE VS PRE-EMPTIVE ACTION

The suggestion of a new approach comes as NATO prepares to accept new members of the former Soviet Bloc at a November summit in Prague. Until now NATO officials have said that the defining principle of the 19-nation alliance -- collective defence -- would remain intact.

Whether European allies would follow Washington's lead in taking offensive military action to eliminate the potential threat of another state or group is far from clear. NATO's rules require all members to agree before taking military action.

Most European allies are reticent about or flatly opposed to a possible U.S.-led strike against Iraq, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder coming from behind in polls to win narrow re-election last month boosted by his firm opposition to war.

The alliance's charter calls on member countries to "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations".

At the NATO summit in Prague, allies will launch a new initiative to build military capability, setting out specifically which countries should do what and by when.