NATO Looks South. New Challenges and New Strategies in the Meditarranean

The security environment facing the United States and NATO in Europe is continuing to change in fundamental ways almost a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union. One significant change has been the steady growth of security challenges emanating from Europes southern periphery-around the Mediterranean and beyond. The United States remains the dominant security actor in this region, and NATO strategy is beginning to look more closely at the management of problems outside the center of Europe. European, Middle Eastern, and Eurasian security are becoming interdependent as a result of political, economic, and military trends. The evolution of the strategic environment along these lines has important implications for defense planning, including the future of U.S. and allied air power. It also suggests a growing role for key allies in NATOs south-Spain, Italy, and Turkey-and the growing significance of U.S. and United States Air Force Europe USAFE relationships with these countries. The recent Kosovo experience underscores these realities.