US Ambassador to NATO: Finland could join elite forces

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Nicholas Burns, the US Ambassador to NATO, says that he would like to see non-allied Finland in the NATO rapid action forces that are to be set up in late 2006.
      In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Burns said that he hopes that Finland would "seriously consider this option".
      In January Finland will again take part in a NATO exercise. NATO plans to end its separate military exercises for countries of the Partnership for Peace after 2006.
     
Burns was in Finland on Monday taking part in a seminar on NATO arranged by the Atlantic Council of Finland.
      "The Finnish and NATO military forces are able to operate together so well, and Finland has been such a good partner that the path is open, if that is what you decide."
      NATO hopes to train a force of more than 20,000 soldiers by the end of 2006. They could be deployed in a crisis area on 5-30 days’ notice for duties such as preparing for the arrival of a larger peacekeeping operation, to evacuate people, or to intervene to quell violence.
      However, participation of any non-NATO members of the Partnership for Peace in the rapid deployment forces requires the unanimous approval of NATO, and no official decisions are expected in a couple of years.
      Some NATO countries are believed to have doubts about the ability of some of the Partnership countries to commit to NATO’s pace and strength.
     
Burns has high praise for the crisis management capability of Finland and Sweden.
      He feels that Finland could benefit NATO both on land and at sea.
      "Finnish peacekeepers in Northern Afghanistan work together with those from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Britain. Therefore it is possible to form smaller groups within NATO comprising countries that work well together."
      Burns emphasises that it is up to Finland to decide if it ever wants to join NATO. However, he feels that both the Finns and the Swedes have a partially antiquated view of the alliance.
      "Many still think of NATO as the NATO of the Cold War. The NATO that I know is a completely new kind of organisation which mainly concentrates on crisis management", Burns says.
     
Finland has been involved in NATO-led crisis management operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Bosnia.
      However, the rapid deployment forces will be armed with heavier weaponry than ordinary crisis management forces, or the EU’s own rapid deployment forces, to which Finland plans to commit 330 soldiers.
      NATO forces would be authorised to launch attacks on hostile forces, which Finnish peacekeepers are not authorised to do under present legislation.
      It is not yet clear how the NATO and EU forces would decide on the allocation of tasks for their respective military units. The issue is made even more complicated by the EU’s draft constitution.
     
If the constitution is approved, it will give member states security guarantees against external attack, but in practice, only NATO can defend the common borders.
      So could EU members who are also in NATO have access to NATO forces or command centres to defend other EU members who are not in the alliance?
      Burns says that he would prefer not to get involved in the debate on EU defence, but he adds: "I do not believe that the United States would ever do anything that would prevent the EU from defending its own members."
      He adds that the United States is committed only to the defence of NATO countries, but that in a tough spot, NATO’s European members can help non-members even without the United States.
      Burns admits that the NATO allies have been through a very difficult crisis over Iraq. However, he believes that next year things will be more harmonious within NATO.
     
"We should no longer argue about whether or not it was right to go into Iraq. Now we should focus on what we can do to establish a democratic government in Iraq", Burns says.
      "The NATO countries will never agree on everything, because we are not the Warsaw Pact", he adds.


Links:
  Atlantic Council of Finland

Helsingin Sanomat