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NATO Skeptical About Direct Counterterror Role
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 11:02 AM ET 1/18/2017
BRUSSELS--The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's top generals expressed reservations about how much the alliance could bolster its counterterror efforts, despite calls from President-elect Donald Trump for a shift in its focus.

Mr. Trump, in interviews at the weekend, reiterated comments that NATO was obsolete, said the alliance must concentrate more on counterterror and told European countries they must spend more on defense. He has also called on the U.S. to work more closely with Russia on fighting Islamic State and other extremist groups.

In a round table with reporters Wednesday, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that while there is room for the alliance to expand its work on training local forces, he was skeptical about a broader military counterterror role.

"The most effective role, in my view, that NATO can play is in the defense capacity building with those nations that are most at risk," Gen. Dunford said.

U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the supreme allied commander for Europe, said at a news conference that the alliance could do more to improve intelligence sharing. "That is a powerful part of counterterrorism," he said.

Unusually for a presidential candidate or president-elect, Mr. Trump has spoken regularly about NATO, thrusting the alliance into discussions about its role, its counterterrorism work and its stance on Russia. He has repeatedly praised NATO's move to create a new intelligence chief post, and suggested a fully fledged counterterror division.

Many European allies have expressed doubts over the prospect of a greater role in fighting terrorism for NATO. Some think that could militarize a problem better handled by law enforcement or impose a complicated decision-making mechanism on problems better managed by individual governments.

Czech Gen. Petr Pavel, the chairman of NATO's military committee, said the alliance is continuing to adapt.

"I am strongly convinced NATO is as relevant today as it was before," Gen. Pavel said. "We can obviously argue about the scope, the depth or path of adaptation but I think the relevance of NATO is not in question."

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended her country's moves to boost military spending, noting that the German defense budget has risen faster than other areas. Germany remains well below the spending goal of 2% of gross domestic product, according to NATO officials.

"Europe has to take a fair share of the burden," she said. "It is not at the point right now. We have to invest more in defense."

But Ms. von der Leyen said the alliance can overcome differences if it remembers its common purpose.

"We are fighting for something," she said. "We are not fighting against something. We are fighting for democracy, we are fighting for open society, for the rule of law, for human rights--this is what unites us in the trans-Atlantic alliance."

Write to Julian E. Barnes at [e-mail]


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01-18-171102ET
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