Growing Pains

THIS July, at the NATO summit in Madrid, the first phase of the NATO enlargement process will end. While public opinion in Western Europe is less supportive of enlargement than it was a year ago, NATO is set to invite Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and possibly Slovenia to join the alliance in 1999. In the corridors at Madrid, participants will debate the pros and cons of inviting Rumania as well.

Unless the United States hesitates or Western public opinion turns far more negative than it is now, the parliaments of Western Europe and Canada will ratify NATO’s decision without excessive debate. In the U.S., it is too early to tell how members of the Senate will vote on the issue. Some will be influenced by various objections that have been voiced:

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Charles Gati

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THIS July, at the NATO summit in Madrid, the first phase of the NATO enlargement process will end. While public opinion in Western Europe is less supportive of enlargement than it was a year ago, NATO is set to invite Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and possibly Slovenia to join the alliance in 1999. In the corridors at Madrid, participants will debate the pros and cons of inviting Rumania as well.

Unless the United States hesitates or Western public opinion turns far more negative than it is now, the parliaments of Western Europe and Canada will ratify NATO’s decision without excessive debate. In the U.S., it is too early to tell how members of the Senate will vote on the issue. Some will be influenced by various objections that have been voiced: