Robert Gates criticized NATO and resources available, but commended Governments that had helped Afghanistan.Outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates United States lists the shortcomings of the allianceHe was talking about in his speech farewell before the Council of NATO in BrusselsGates called urgent steps to "avoid military irrelevance..."
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that NATO had become an Alliance of "two-tier" ill-equipped to deal with the challenges and the members is unable or unwilling to carry out missions agreed in Afghanistan and Libya.
In his farewell speech, on Friday to the Council of NATO in Brussels, Gates threw some blows in the listing of the weaknesses of the Alliance.
In particular, drew a contrast between the members "willing and able to pay the price and bear the burden of the commitments of the Alliance and those who enjoy the benefits of membership in NATO... but you want to share the risks and costs".
"This is no longer a hypothetical concern", he said. "Today we are there, and it is unacceptable."
Gates called for urgent measures to "prevent the very real possibility of collective military irrelevance".
Ultimately, he said, "The United Nations should be responsible for a fair share of the common defense".
The Defense Secretary said that the problem is part of the resources.
Pointing to an estimate that defense spending European had declined by almost 15% in the decade following the September 11, Gates said only five of the 28 allies became now the agreed target of 2% of GDP on defense.
Gates said that the mission Allied Afghanistan had exposed significant weaknesses of the NATO - military capacities and political will.
"Despite more than 2 million soldiers in uniform - not counting the United States Army - NATO has fought, sometimes desperately, to support the deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not only in the boots on the ground, but in crucial active support," he said.
Gates praised the Governments which have intensified in Afghanistan.
"Frankly, four years ago never would have expected that the Alliance to support this operation at this level at this time, much less significantly add more forces in 2010," said.
Definitely "it changed the momentum on the ground", but NATO must now be protected against a "race to the exits".
" The road ahead in Afghanistan is"start together, together," Gates said - in order to "inflict a strategic and ideological defeat of terrorist groups that threaten our homelands".
Gates had harsh words for the realization of the air campaign against the regime of Muammar Gadhafi in Libya. He said that he had become "painfully clear" that deficiencies could "harm the ability of the Alliance to carry out a campaign of comprehensive, effective and sustained weather".
"While each Member of the Alliance voted in favor of the Mission of Libya, less than half have participated at all, and less than one-third have been willing to participate in the Mission of the strike," he said.
Some did not want to - others simply were unable to. NATO had no intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to do the job. Gates gave a critical example: "Italy NATO air operations center requires a significant increase of aimed at specialists, mainly from United States, to do the job." ... We have the spectacle of a hub of air designed to handle more than 300 departures a day struggling to launch about 150 ".
Gates praised members of NATO to punch above its weight in the operation of Libya.
"Norway and Denmark have always 12% of Allied aircraft strike even hit a third of the goals", said. But these examples were the exceptions.
Gates concluded with a clear warning on the American will to continue to have a growing share of the burden of NATO.
"The blunt reality is that there will be decreased appetite and patience in the Congress of United States... spend increasingly precious funds on behalf of the United Nations who are apparently willing to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and able partners in his own defense," he said.
NATO members to better allocate their resources, to follow up the commitments and protect defence budgets to be "more destroyed" to avoid "a bleak future," Gates said.
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