November 18,
2004
Ambassador Ginte B. Damušis
Head of Mission of the Republic of Lithuania to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
TOPIC: The New, Enlarged
NATO
Ambassador Robert H. Serry
Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Crisis Management and
Operations,
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
TOPIC: NATO's
Peace Keeping Role in the World
By all accounts, the
highlight of this year’s ELF program was the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Delegation’s
seminar. Ginte Damusis, Lithuanian Ambassador to
NATO, and Deputy Assistant Secretary General Robert
Serry came from Brussels to meet with the members of
the Executive Lecture Forum and briefed them about
"The New Enlarged NATO" and "NATO’s Peace Keeping
Role in the World." Ambassador Damusis emphasized
that in today’s world, NATO has many new challenges
to overcome, including the fight against
international terrorism. "Our security is still at
risk," she said. To prove how important NATO is for
the international community, the Ambassador remarked
that the first overseas leader to visit the American
President after his re-election was NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. As a representative
of the new Europe and a new member of NATO,
Ambassador Damusis noted that the challenges and
difficulties of the world could only be overcome if
the United States and the European Union are solving
the problems jointly, together.
Deputy Assistant
Secretary General Robert Serry concentrated on the
global dimension of the war against terrorism. The
September 11 attacks prompted NATO to immediately
invoke Article 5 of its Charter which declares: "an
attack on one member country is an attack on all
member countries." Iraq, on the other hand, was a
painful experience within NATO, said the Deputy
Assistant Secretary General. However, NATO is going
to get involved in stabilizing the Iraqi situation
by training Iraqi security forces and providing
protective services. It will send 1,500 troops for
this mission. "It is important," he said," to avoid
Iraq ending up in chaos or exploding into an all out
civil war."
Both speakers received
numerous questions, mainly related to NATO’s role in
the Middle East crisis, and the possible reparation
of the damaged ties of the Transatlantic Alliance.
Note: The NATO Delegation
met also with students and faculty at Mississippi State University and lectured on
NATO’s Mission in the Post-Cold War Era, and briefed
the Mississippi Anti-Terrorism Task Force on NATO’s
role in the Fight Against International Terrorism.
