Letter from Al

As Vaclav Havel has compellingly argued, “bringing NATO closer to Russian borders means bringing closer democracy and stabilization.” NATO as currently configured is no longer up to the task for which it was created: to protect vulnerable free societies from the encroachment of aggressive states. Yet NATO’s expansion must be thought through in a way that does not isolate Russia’s neighbor, Ukraine. The best way to do this is to transform NATO into a military-political alliance that is the anchor of a Euro-Atlantic security system. That system should be open to the eventual incorporation of a democratic Ukraine, and of Russia, if it succeeds in its transformation from a tyranny to a free society.

At the NATO Summit, President Clinton and Secretary Christopher argued against drawing a new boundary in Europe. Unfortunately, that boundary has already been drawn—by Russia, through its relentless efforts to create a unified military bloc under the Commonwealth of Independent States. One of the conditions of a democratic Russia’s eventual entry into a Euro-Atlantic security pact would be the dissolution of any CIS defense pact.

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As Vaclav Havel has compellingly argued, “bringing NATO closer to Russian borders means bringing closer democracy and stabilization.” NATO as currently configured is no longer up to the task for which it was created: to protect vulnerable free societies from the encroachment of aggressive states. Yet NATO’s expansion must be thought through in a way that does not isolate Russia’s neighbor, Ukraine. The best way to do this is to transform NATO into a military-political alliance that is the anchor of a Euro-Atlantic security system. That system should be open to the eventual incorporation of a democratic Ukraine, and of Russia, if it succeeds in its transformation from a tyranny to a free society.

At the NATO Summit, President Clinton and Secretary Christopher argued against drawing a new boundary in Europe. Unfortunately, that boundary has already been drawn—by Russia, through its relentless efforts to create a unified military bloc under the Commonwealth of Independent States. One of the conditions of a democratic Russia’s eventual entry into a Euro-Atlantic security pact would be the dissolution of any CIS defense pact.