NATO’s military chairman sees the alliance continuing to adapt
This morning, I interviewed Danish Gen. Knud Bartels, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee. Gen. Bartels discussed the outlook for NATO’s transition plan in Afghanistan, NATO’s role after Afghanistan, and what NATO learned from last year’s operation in Libya.
The NATO Military Committee that Bartels chairs is composed of the chiefs of defense of the alliance’s 28 member countries and provides the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top political and decision-making body, with military advice. The Military Committee is roughly equivalent to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, which makes Bartels NATO’s top military officer (Supreme Allied Commander, Europe – Adm. James Stavridis, USN – is NATO’s top operational field commander).
Bartels has been in the Danish army since 1972 and rose to become Denmark’s chief of defense. He served on the inter-German border during the Cold War, in the Balkans in the 1990s, and in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.
Transition in Afghanistan. Bartels asserted that the plan to turn over all security to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014 was feasible, but cautioned about “bumps in the road” along the way. Regarding the recent Koran-burning riots and green-on-blue murders, Bartels expected that NATO’s soldiers in Afghanistan would stay focused on ISAF’s mission. He noted that Afghan security forces have complete responsibility for crowd control in the cities and in his view are doing a good job.
Regarding the search for policymaking balance between “events on the ground” and strict timelines, Bartels advised policymakers to take both into account. In his view, Afghans will benefit from a hard deadline, which will force them to accept responsibility for their security.
NATO’s role in Afghanistan after 2014. Bartels stated that ISAF and its mission will end in 2014. Come 2015, there will likely be a new NATO mission in Afghanistan, concentrating on training, advising, mentoring, and support, with NATO quick reaction forces also present. The size and composition of this new mission is still under development and will be discussed at the NATO heads-of-government summit this May in Chicago.
NATO’s future after Afghanistan. Bartels stated that NATO’s future will be guided by enduring principles from its past, namely the shared cultural values of its members and the continuing advantages of collective defense. He was not concerned about the loudly-declared U.S. “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific region; while acknowledging U.S. interests in the region and its relationships with Japan, Australia, and South Korea, Bartels asserted that NATO has provided the United States with its most loyal and capable military allies and will continue to do so in the future, a feature U.S. policymakers will value.
Bartels recommends that after Afghanistan, NATO return its training programs back to basic military skills. For Bartels, last year’s operation in Libya showed that surprise is inevitable. He stated that NATO could prepare for surprise by maintaining a mix of capabilities, enhancing NATO’s intelligence-gathering and processing, and developing rapidly mobile and deployable ground forces.
Bartels noted that the alliance has been adapting and transforming over virtually his entire military career, a process that he expects to continue. He also suggested that NATO’s permanent relationships might someday extend into the Asia-Pacific region, noting the close cooperation NATO already has in Afghanistan with Australia, New Zealand, and others from Asia.