BRUSSELS – US defence secretary Leon Panetta warned Nato allies yesterday that spending cuts on both sides of the Atlantic risked weakening the alliance’s military capability in a way that could be devastating to US and European security.
In Brussels for his first meeting with Nato defence ministers, Mr Panetta pointed to this year’s war in Libya as an example of Nato’s vital role in responding to global military crises.
The 28-member alliance is close to concluding an air-and-sea campaign in Libya that saw Muammar Gadafy overthrown without a Nato casualty.
However, the organisation remains bogged down in a hugely expensive war in Afghanistan, where 10 years of Western fighting has failed to subdue a Taliban insurgency, and officials say the extra effort in Libya has exposed limits that must be addressed.
“After World War One, after World War Two, after Korea, after Vietnam, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, we made the mistake of hollowing out our forces. That cannot happen again,” Mr Panetta said in a speech before meeting his Nato counterparts.
“We need to use this moment to make the case for the need to invest in this alliance to ensure it remains relevant to the security challenges of the future.”
Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on Nato ministers to identify ahead of an alliance summit in Chicago in May projects in which they can co-operate to make best use of resources at a time of economic austerity. – (Reuters)