FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BRUSSELS – Less than two weeks after the fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban, the secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, 62, defines the situation in the country “a tragedy”. However, speaking to a group of European newspapers including Il Sole / 24 Ore (the full interview on newsstands tomorrow, ed), the former Norwegian premier continues to defend the choice to send troops to the country. Faced with appeals for a European defense to be born, he argues that “the European Union will never be able to defend Europe”.
How is the evacuation from Kabul taking place?
NATO is playing a key role with the presence at the airport of 200 men and women, contributing to refueling, controlling airspace and protecting against fires. On the diplomatic front, our representative, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo, is coordinating the efforts of all allied countries. Yesterday (Tuesday for the reader, ed) we evacuated 21,600 people. 40% took off on non-American planes. NATO member countries are currently running up to 80 flights a day from Kabul.
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The Afghan affair is putting NATO’s credibility into question as never before.
It is terrible to see the latest Afghan developments. It is a tragedy for the Afghan people. And it is terrible that the social progress achieved in recent years is now in danger. At the same time, I think it is important to understand that NATO remains a very strong alliance. We acted in 2001 by invoking Article 5 of the Atlantic Treaty (which provides for mutual assistance in the event of an attack, ed) not to protect Afghanistan, but to protect the United States. We wanted to avoid new terrorist attacks against the United States and other NATO countries.
Over the past twenty years, we have been able to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. Regardless of what happens in the country, North America and Europe must remain united as we are facing a shift in the global balance of power in the wake of a more aggressive Russia and the rise of China. The choice to leave Afghanistan was difficult, but it does not alter the commitment of the allies to defend each other, it does not change the need for North America and Europe to remain united, and it does not change the usefulness of Article 5 either.
How do you react to the new debate on the urgency for Europe to assume its responsibilities in defending the continent?
We must distinguish two aspects. For some time the allies have decided to increase military spending to bring it to 2% of GDP at the national level. This is a precondition for having a stronger defense of Europe. That said, thinking that Europe can defend itself without the United States or NATO is wrong. The European Union will never be able to defend Europe. Partly for financial reasons: 80% of NATO military spending comes from non-EU member countries.