Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 08/2014

Anchoring the Alliance

Nicholas Burns, Damon Wilson, Jeff Lightfoot

May 2012

Atlantic Council

Abstract

On the eve of the Chicago summit, a new Atlantic Council report argues for the enduring importance of NATO, and calls for renewed leadership from the Alliance's members to ensure NATO's vibrancy in the decade to come.

Published today by the Atlantic Council, Anchoring the Alliance argues that NATO is a force multiplier for the United States and remains essential to addressing the security challenges of a globalized world. R. Nicholas Burns - Atlantic Council Board director, former under secretary of state, and former US ambassador to NATO - served as the project chairman, with Atlantic Council executive vice president Damon Wilson as the project director, and International Security Program deputy director Jeff Lightfoot served as rapporteur. In the report, Burns argues that for NATO to remain central in the coming decade, the United States will have to provide strong leadership of the Alliance, Europe must maintain its aspirations for global leadership, and the Alliance as a whole must strengthen its engagement with global partners.