British PM Forecasts NATO Involvement as Military Arm of 'New International Order'

British PM Forecasts NATO Involvement as Military Arm of 'New International Order'

24 April, 1999

By Dorothea Cooke
CNS Managing Editor

(CNS) - Under extremely tight security, the leaders of the 19 member countries of NATO met in Washington, D.C. on Friday to celebrate the military alliance's 50th anniversary and to discuss the bombing in Yugoslavia, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussing the role of the organization in what he called a "new international order."

Blair, in a speech given Thursday entitled "Doctrine of the International Community," talked about a new role for NATO. With President Clinton and other world leaders in attendance, Blair alluded to a future where NATO could become the military arm of a new world order rather than a strictly defensive alliance. Blair said, "If we can establish and spread the values of liberty, the rule of law, human rights, and an open society then that is in our national interest too.

The speech echoed the beliefs of President Harry Truman, who decades earlier envisioned a day when NATO would become a branch of the United Nations seeking to enforce an internationalist viewpoint.

The Labour Prime Minister went on to say, "We are all internationalists now whether we like it or not. We cannot refuse to participate in global markets if we want to prosper, we cannot ignore new political ideas in other countries if we want to innovate, and we cannot turn our backs on conflicts and the violation of human rights within other countries if we want still to be secure."

Blair, borrowing a page from Clinton, quoted President John Kennedy. "The spread of our values makes us safer. As John Kennedy put it, 'Freedom is indivisible and when one man is enslaved, who is free?'" Blair added, "principle of non-interference must be qualified" so that democracies could prevent refugee flows and genocide.

Britain has taken a leading role in keeping the NATO alliance unified in its mission against Yugoslavia, and France and Germany now appear to be joining with Britain in pushing for the need for ground troops. Both of their foreign ministers have said publicly they will no longer rule out the option of using ground troops. However, the foreign ministers of Italy and Greece said they could not support such a move.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis said prolonged bombing of Yugoslavia could turn his nation against NATO and the United States. While sticking to Greece's official support, Simitis said, "The more the war continues, the more difficult the problems will be."

Blair said on Thursday the only exit strategy he will accept is the successful completion of the NATO mission. "Success is the only exit strategy I am prepared to consider," Blair said in a foreign policy speech given in Washington on Thursday.

With the apparent support of President Clinton, Blair said he was prepared to see ground troops brought in to force Milosevic to capitulate to the five NATO demands. "We will not have succeeded until an international force has entered Kosovo and allowed the refugees to return to their homes," said Blair. The British Prime Minister added that Milosevic has to be totally defeated and be seen by the world as totally defeated.

In his Thursday speech, Blair cited the five NATO objectives as being, "a verifiable cessation of all combat activities and killings; the withdrawal of Serb military, police and paramilitary forces from Kosovo; the deployment of an international military force; the return of all refugees and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid; and a political framework for Kosovo, building on the Rambouillet accords. We will not negotiate on these aims. Milosevic must accept them."

The speech came after a three hour White House meeting between Clinton, Blair, Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and National Security Adviser Samuel Berger.

NATO leaders had earlier rejected a Russian proposed peace plan, which would call for a peacekeeping force but would exclude who they called the "aggressor nations" of the United States, Britain, France and Germany. The Russians claimed Milosevic agreed to its plan.

Javier Solana, NATO Secretary-General, said on Friday in the summit's opening session NATO will not tolerate ethnic persecution. "Milosevic must know there is no place for his policies in Europe on the eve of the 21st century," said Solana.

Earlier, President Clinton told NATO allies, "When we fight, we fight to prevail." He added, "We send a clear message of unity and determination to sustain our air campaign for as long as it takes."

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