{"id":10492,"date":"2015-04-22T15:59:50","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T19:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexingtoninstitute.org\/?p=10492"},"modified":"2015-04-23T08:46:03","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T12:46:03","slug":"if-nato-were-a-computer-operating-system-it-would-probably-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexingtoninstitute.org\/if-nato-were-a-computer-operating-system-it-would-probably-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"If NATO Were A Computer Operating System It Would Probably Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"
In an article published yesterday in the European edition of Politico<\/em>, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) attempts to make the case for a new NATO. To freshen up the idea, Admiral Stavridis asks the reader<\/a> to imagine NATO as a computer program.\u00a0 NATO Version 1.0 was the Cold War institution, focused on defending Western Europe from a Soviet\/Warsaw Pact invasion and deterring escalation to nuclear war. This basic program worked rather well for more than forty years, largely because its purpose remained clear, its missions relatively straightforward and the designers were careful not to add too many subroutines to the basic structure.<\/p>\n With the end of the Cold War, Alliance leaders thought that the institution might come in handy at a future time, so they looked around for a new rationale for the organization and new missions it might pursue while waiting to once again be called into action. This was NATO 2.0. The new program was much more complex than its predecessor, being required to simultaneously address the rapid expansion in its membership, new missions outside the physical borders of the Alliance, massive military downsizing, the explosion in IT-enabled military technology and a new, and for a time hopeful, relationship with Russia.<\/p>\n Now, Admiral Stavridis is proposing yet another version of the software, NATO 3.0. As described, this would be the most complex software upgrade yet. The new NATO must address five central tasks: cyber conflict, fighting the Islamic State in the Middle East, deterring Russia (but without igniting a new arms race), conducting an expanded anti-piracy campaign around the African continent and continuing to conduct military support and training activities in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n