Tuesday, 7 April 2009
“I respect Islam as one of the world’s major religions as well as its religious symbols,”Dane Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a panel discussion at the Alliance of Civilizations forum in Istanbul two days after being chosen as the chief of NATO. “I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave irrespectively towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Nothing could be further from my mind,” the would-be Secretary General added.
NATO now appears to feel at ease after the thorny discussions at the NATO Summit on 3-4 April 2009, which was marked with the Turkish opposition against Rasmussen as the chief of the Alliance. The Turkish resistance seriously complicated the appointment of Rasmussen. Yet, the former Danish PM succeed to become the General Secretary thanks to do strong support from the heavyweights such as US, UK, Germany, France and Italy.
The Cartoon Crisis and Roj TV
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan countered the leadership of Rasmussen for two reasons, namely the cartoon crisis and Roj TV, broadcasting from Denmark. Erdogan put his opposition into words in a speech that he gave at the Chatham House, the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, in London. The Danish Prime Minister’s approach in dealing with the ‘cartoon crisis’ in 2006 significantly hinders his potential to lead the Alliance, according to Erdogan. Rasmussen supported the release of the controversial cartoons, one of which showed Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, in the name of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression may be a very fundamental reason for bearing up with such a situation. Yet, the situation went from bad to worse due to Rasmussen’s way of dealing with the crisis afterwards. The Danish PM had declined a meeting offer from the ambassadors of Muslim countries – a proposal initiated by Turkey. The representatives’ endeavor was to evaluate the situation and call for a peaceful atmosphere.
Allowing the PKK-associated Roj TV to broadcast from Denmark appeared to be another reason for the Turkish PM to oppose the candidacy of Mr. Rasmussen. 'The media arm of the terror organization in my country is broadcasting from Denmark. I've asked Mr. Rasmussen do stop this but he either couldn't or wouldn't do it,' Erdogan told in London. Though giving space to even terrorists who are on the red list of Interpol and openly making propaganda of the terrorist organization, PM Rasmussen had not done more than saying that the Danish police were investigating the case.
The stalemate is now over thanks to the diplomatic efforts of leaders at the Summit, particularly to those of the Italain PM Silvio Berlusconi and American President Barack Obama. Obama’s ‘guarantees’ seem to have convinced Erdogan.
The Evolving Role of the Alliance
The tone of the discussions on the issue in fact addresses an ever-developing role of NATO. Who will lead the Alliance increasingly becomes an important issue not solely because of political passions or crafty tactics. The profile of the boss is critical, since NATO plays a key role in dealing with today’s security issues. The Alliance is no more an outdated burden serving no useful purpose, as it was after the demise of communist Russia. NATO is a significant opportunity for the world to tackle the global root causes of terrorism as well as reacting to terrorist events and threats.
NATO appears to be a promising actor for meeting today’s security challenges in the contemporary world. As the organization states on its website, NATO has chosen to operate within a wide spectrum of civil and military instruments, which requires regular coordination, consultation, and interaction among all actors involved. After a short period of uncertainty, the organization soon managed to choose a new path and became a key player in the security arena.
[1] NATO has indeed done much to ensure that it has the capabilities, policies, and structures required in the changing international security environment and to pre-empt future challenges. With Allied forces engaged in operations and missions across several continents, the Alliance also works to ensure that Allied armed forces remain modern, deployable, and sustainable.
[2]NATO has extended the number of its member states with the accession of Albania and Croatia a couple of days ago. The Alliance further expands its power through developing strong ties with non- NATO countries within the frame of partnership. NATO has dialogue with many partner countries from Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Mediterranean area on security issues. An emphasis put on the improved relationships with countries like Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia appears to be a bold step when the reawakening of the Russia is taken into consideration.
Concluding Remarks
It would not be wrong to say that the NATO mission in Afghanistan is a proficiency test in Afghanistan. NATO will prove its competence and will give good reasons for the earlier failures in the country, if it can give a hand in dealing with corruption, opium cultivation, building infrastructure, establishing the rule of law, and substantiating the authority of the state. Much of this work is only slightly related to conventional military understanding. NATO needs to allocate much of its energy to soft power issues and to give attention to winning the hearts and minds of people, if it undertakes finding solutions to today’s problems. Leaders, and particularly the leader of NATO, need to show potential in this regard. Until his speech in Istanbul, Rasmussen had not appeared to be very compatible with these needs. Yet, his speech in Istanbul indeed raises hopes, especially when the transforming approach within the U.S. foreign policy is also taken into consideration. Winning hearts and minds, the political participation of the disadvantaged, and eliminating cynicism seem to be the most common words of the NATO speeches in the coming period. The ever evolving nature of the Alliance does not give the new Secretary General much room in terms of leaving his Istanbul speech in the air. Much improvement and progress await Rasmussen in this regard.
Remarks on the Israeli Assault 
