NATO’s new face

NATO’s new secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is staking everything on achieving success in the operations in Afghanistan. And Denmark’s former prime minister has a reputation for realising his visions

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By Charlotte Aagaard

Photo: Scanpix

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 56, is both an idealist and a pragmatist. His visions for NATO are relatively simple; the war in Afghanistan must be won, the relationship with Russia improved, and NATO must remain the world’s strongest military alliance. Three objectives which without doubt he will do his utmost to fulfil.

After seven years as prime minister and six months as EU chairman, Anders Fogh Rasmussen is considered a highly experienced politician, who manages with great skill to reach the objectives he sets himself. Even political opponents respect him for his capability, initiative and determination.

Afghanistan
It is no coincidence that Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s first state visit as secretary general of NATO was to Afghanistan.

»I wanted to send a signal to the Afghan people that we support them in their efforts to become a free and prosperous nation. Afghanistan’s children should grow up in a peaceful country. That is my highest priority,« he explains in his official blog.

Among the first messages from Anders Fogh Rasmussen was thus the announcement that NATO’s engagement in Kosovo will be completed and all powers henceforth concentrated in Afghanistan, where 64,500 soldiers are now under direct NATO command.

Afghanistan is a project which must succeed, is the message from the new secretary general. For the sake of international security, for the sake of NATO’s future as a reliable military alliance and for the sake of the Afghan population.

»A peaceful Afghanistan must be built by the Afghans themselves, but I would like to point out that NATO will stay as long as it takes to carry out the task,« he says, and hopes that the Afghans can take over »the main responsibility for most of the country« during his time as secretary general.

A door to the east
The other important signal from NATO’s new secretary general is that he wants to improve the relationship with Russia, which has been very strained since the Russia-Georgia War in 2008.

One of Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s first initiatives as secretary general was thus a commitment to increase the collaboration with Russia regarding combating terror, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and piracy.

At the same time however, Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said that NATO intends to continue in its endeavours to expand the alliance with Georgia and Ukraine, which deeply worries Russia.

»NATO’s open door policy will continue, but to become a member one has to be ready to contribute to Europe’s and North America’s security and be ready to defend peace, democracy, individual freedom and the constitutional state,« says the liberal politician, adding that possible NATO expansions are not targeted against Russia or any other state.

»NATO wants to live in peace with all countries, but none outside NATO can veto another country’s membership.«

Anders Fogh Rasmussen sees it as his overall objective to ensure that in ten years, NATO is still the world’s strongest military alliance, an alliance that can defend its members, both against terrorism and the threat from weapons of mass destruction.

If that is to become a reality, success in Afghanistan is a must. And making it happen will probably give the new NATO secretary general more than a few headaches over the next four years.