The Towing Path

The volunteers’ sense of camaraderie can strengthen the local community spirit, and of course it will fulfill the volunteers’ goal of helping those who can’t support themselves. But how much time does it take to arrange? You’ll discover that it’s simpler to volunteer when an event has been organized for you. And don’t you think that if you had your friends from work volunteering alongside you you’d all enjoy yourselves more? In response, a number of companies are making themselves into points of organization to help their employees support the community. A leader in this field is Adaptive Marketing LLC of Connecticut who also offer programs such as Privacy Matters Identity (MVQ*PRIVACYMID) to consumers. Initiatives like these were always annual occasions — in today’s world, so much more can be accomplished. The employees of Adaptive Marketing have been given the opportunity to take part in a full range of community initiatives. For events like these, the dates, times and locations that had been arranged were announced, making it convenient for staff to know what to expect, and how much of a time commitment was required. It is important to let volunteers support programs according to their own interests. At Adaptive Marketing, the people who brought you Privacy Matters Identity (MVQ*PRIVACYMID), members of staff are given the chance to choose from a diverse list of volunteer projects. Prior projects have ranged between areas as diverse as aid and assistance for children and young adults, environmental projects, and events related to artists. Adaptive Marketing’s staff members are sure to have something they enjoy to volunteer for, ensuring they’ll enjoy the time they spend volunteering.

Commonly a company sponsored volunteer project — getting involved with a homeless shelter, say, or helping out at a local school — is either for a one-off event or on a regular schedule designed to achieve a bigger goal. So if you’ve only got enough time for the public library’s used-book sale or a Saturday morning spent litter picking in the park, there’s still a chance to make a difference. It’s hardly an unusual practice for companies to help out the community which they serve. Community goodwill is created by the volunteer work carried out by Adaptive Marketing’s staffers, and the staffers of companies like it, over the course of company-supported programs like those discussed in this article. Something that volunteer work is sure to do is provide your staff with a healthy appreciation for what they can do, the end result of which is a motivated company. Encouraging your staff members to find the time to volunteer can be its own reward.

Comments Off

Contraceptive pill has been used for a long time, and there are tens of millions of patients in the U.S. alone. For the most part, contraceptive pills are a solid and trustworthy way for women to preclude unwanted pregnancies. Yaz is one contraceptive pill that stands out as quite distinct from the others, and was wildly popular because of its potency in easing PMDD. Yasmin is the pill that is marketed as being good in not only preventing pregnancy but also in the treatment of PMDD and acne. All was going well until the users of this medication determined that there were some rather troublesome Yaz side effects.

According to the FDA, Yasmin should only express what has been sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration as part of the advertising effects, which does not look to be the situation. Yasmin is a drug that precludes fertilization, however, it was licensed for the marketplace to aid problems with PMDD, or Premenstrual dysphoric disorder and moderate to sever acne. Having said this, the most critical side effects were left out and you are forced to search for the side effects the hard way.

If you have sustained any of these serious Yaz side effects, or are worried for a love one, do not delay any longer. Meet a lawyer immediately to find out if you qualify for money. Yasmin producers and distributors have made millions from the sale of this possibly dangerous drug, and it is time that they now commence to pay for the damage that they have caused to consumers. In any case, you can further research your options through a Google search of either Yaz side effects or Yaz lawsuit.

Comments Off

Drospirenone is just one of the elements assigned to the barrage of Yaz side effects reported regularly in America. Drospirenone is an ingredient allegedly unlike other progestins in the United States and was not found in America before appeared in Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella. Also consider that the FDA released warning letter to the makers of Ocella, Yasmin and Yaz for using low-quality batches of drospirenone from Germany and you have the makings of a cautionary tale involving Big Pharma and its neglect for the wellbeing of the people using its pharmaceuticals.

Mass Tort is simply civil lawsuit that covers a number of plaintiffs. This action is taken against one or more corporate defendants in court. Unlike a class action where a number of people take it upon themselves to bring forth litigation as a whole, in mass tort the original plaintiffs and law firms use mass media outlets to reach other possible plaintiffs. Those TV ads and newspaper solicitations inquiring if you are a loved one have been effected by a particular product are the result of a mass tort ruling.

Adult Females taking Yasmin, Yaz or Ocella to avoid becoming pregnant or to treat PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) or severe acne have reportedly sustained extreme injury to their health and wellbeing. Although most pharmaceuticals present some form of side effects, the main event surrounding Yaz seems to be that the original commercials downplayed the health risks and side effects. This attracted users to the product that may not have taken it otherwise had they been properly informed about the risks posed by Ocella, Yasmin and Yaz.

Comments Off

Volunteering — a path to a closer community, and supporting the poor in the vicinity. Finding the freedom for this can be difficult, and arranging what you want to do can easily eat up free time better used to actually work. And don’t you agree that with your friends from work volunteering alongside you you’d all enjoy yourselves more?

Consequently companies like Adaptive Marketing LLC, that developed shopping programs such as Todays Escapes, are stepping up as the points of organization enabling their employees to find the time to reach out.

When you think of company supported charitable effort, you probably think of blood drives, maybe an annual donation drive, but that’s simply no longer true. The staff members of Adaptive Marketing are frequently given the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of community initiatives with greater and lesser time investments. Once all the pertinent information — location, time, date, type, etc — had been publically announced it became very simple for staff to settle the actual amount of time they could give and how they’d be using it. It’s hardly volunteering if there’s no choice between projects. At Adaptive Marketing, the firm behind Todays Escapes, staff are given the chance to choose from a wide range of programs in the local area. You’ll find there’s so much to be done, after all; taking part in the entertainment and education of children and young adults, helping with green programs, or supporting local artistic projects to list a few that have already been tried. Adaptive Marketing’s employees are sure to have something they enjoy to volunteer for, making their time enjoyable as well as effective.

Most often a company supported charity project — getting involved with a local school or helping out at a homeless shelter — is either for a one-off event or on a regular schedule in pursuit of a bigger goal. Staff members may well say they don’t have the free time, though it would be pretty surprising if they honestly cannot set aside enough hours to help at an event requiring merely a single day.

You’ll find plenty of tales of organizations finding ways to help the citizens of their hometown. Like many other firms, Adaptive Marketing maintains volunteer initiatives to help others and to generate positive feeling within the local community by the activities of its staff. Assisting others makes you feel much better about yourself — just the sort of feeling to motivate staffers in both their regular work and their volunteer activities, too.

Comments Off

Is the Federal Trade Commission really stopping SPAM? Is the FTC and all of our tax dollars doing any good reducing SPAM? Why do we even bother to pretend? Did the FTC assume that its publicity alone would scare the spammers into quitting? The FTC is quite arrogant in that case. They spent over a year having meetings trying to define what SPAM actually was; then when we ask for a progress report as the SPAM had increased they say: “We are working on it, we need to redefine SPAM.” Why? Well so they can make their cases stick? As if lawsuits will help? You see folks the FTC is as impotent as the Viagra SPAM we get each day. The FTC is still to this day debating with themselves what a commercial e-mail is? CAN-SPAM Act was an utter disappointment. Once again it proves the government does nothing very well.

The CAN-SPAM Act was well intentioned indeed, but today still over 75% of all emails received are SPAM, which the FTC says is good as a dent is being made; it use to be 90%. But the reduction was not due to the FTC? Far from it, those morons, in my opinion are too busy discussing their gay lovers to do anything about SPAM. How many SPAM emails is that really? It is 13 Billion per day. The FTC went after one case, which was almost 1 million per day. The MA Attorney General filed on another, which sent out 10 million so far? But we are talking 13 Billion per day still. So the few cases are drops in the bucket and the puffery of public announcements that the FTC is planning on doing something ain’t working one bit. The Spammers are making a complete and utter mockery of The United States of America’s Justice Department’s Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Protection Division.

Most of the SPAM reduction people are seeing is coming from the private sector and software. Not from the FTC. Haven’t we had enough from that agency? When is Congress going to do the right thing and cut their budget by two-thirds and lay off those bureaucratic impotent misrepresenting fakers?

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Comments Off

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a unusual and quick acting tumor for which no successful treatment is around notwithstanding the finding of quite a few probable molecular and genetic targets. The late stages of Malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis and the period of time that between some exposures and diagnosis have made it tricky to completely study the importance of risk factors and the insuing molecular effects.

A lot of hospitals are witnessing an increasing amount of patients that are suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma. This gives pathologists diagnosing the patient many problems, that are divided into those exposed in finding the differences between mesothelioma and harmless changes and those seen in differentiating mesotheliomas from additional forms of epithelial and tissue tumors that connect. Immunohistochemistry is a major factor in diagnosis, nevertheless it should be understood in regards to the scientific setting and radiological characteristics, and with a knowledge of the broad morphological variations existing in mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a primary cancer of the serosal cavities, an anatomical site that is also frequently affected by metastasis, largely from primary carcinomas of the ovary, lung and breast. Advances in immunohistochemistry have resulted in improved diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in the differential diagnosis in regards to histological and cytological material. Lately, the researchers employed high throughput technology to the identification of new signs that may aid in telling the difference between mesothelioma from ovarian and peritoneal cancer, tumors cells that contain closely related histogenesis and antigenic profile. In addition to the improved tools accessible for serosal carcinoma diagnosis, understanding the biology of malignant mesothelioma has been accumulating recently.

Comments Off

Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guest, Pedro Sanjuan, author of THE UN GANG: A Memoir of Incompetence, Corruption, Espionage, Anti-Semitism, and Islamic Extremism at the UN Secretariat.

Good day Pedro and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview.

Norm:

Pedro, please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Pedro:

A meddlesome U.S. Government official who succeeded for 27 years by telling the State Department that it was racist, the Defense Department that the Navy couldn’t shell Caribbean islands inhabited by Americans or anyone else, the Inter-American Development Bank that its corruption was unacceptable, the Micronesian U.S. territories they should be independent. During 6 different administrations and in 7 different departments and the White House staff, this trouble-maker became sought after as a troubleshooter - lastly at the UN Secretariat as the top US spy. See website.

Norm:

What were your official and unofficial duties at the UN Secretariat, when you first were appointed to your post in 1984 by then-Vice President George H. W. Bush? How did you react when you received news of your appointment?

Pedro:

It was a U.S. Government conspiracy. First I was appointed Assistant Secretary of Interior for International Affairs, but because of my Russian and other government intelligence background, the White House waited for a UN Secretariat position at the top level to come open. At that level, the UN tradition is to make appointments suggested by certain member states. When the Director for Political Affairs came open, Bush pushed me down the throat of the UN Secretary-General in spite of Soviet opposition, and I became known as the top American spy. Unofficially, but actually, I was there to spy on the spies who spied on the U.S. It was a complicated situation, but not uninteresting. The Soviets could say nothing for they had 274 KGB spies on board.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections?

Pedro:

Abraham Foxman, Chairman of the U.S. ADL, heard me speak, persuaded me to write a book, turned me over to his literary agent, Lynne Rabinoff, and she right off got Doubleday. No rejections.

Norm:

Your book is surely going “ruffle a few feathers,” have you received any nasty feedback pertaining to some of your comments about Anti-Semitism, and other topics you touched upon in your book? As a follow up, why do you feel that this was an important book for you to write and for all of us to read at this time?

Pedro:

I’m sure I have ruffled feathers at the UN, though many staffers have read the book and agree with it. Everywhere I have spoken, throughout the U.S. and Canada, I have received enthusiastic reactions, including the U.S. Congress. The subject of deeply rooted anti-Semitism at the UN Secretariat is an outrage and my audience, which is quite varied, agrees.

Norm:

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Pedro:

After 10 years at the UN Secretariat with the support of the U.S. Government, I knew quite well whereof I wrote. I have had no challenges that I am aware of, probably because there is no way you can justify this sewer sludge of anti-Semitism sloshing through the halls of the UN Secretariat.

Norm:

Since you left your post at the UN, do you believe that much of what you had to say in your book is still prevalent?

Pedro:

Efforts have been made to whitewash UN anti-Semitism and the moral corruption, but the situation is the result of more than 50 years of ignorance of what goes on in the UN Secretariat and indifferences by member states to the degeneracy that has been allowed to corrupt the UN, so no radical change has taken place.

Norm:

Why hasn’t there been more media exposure on what you have to say in your book? After all, as you mention in the book, the American taxpayer pays about twenty-five percent of the UN’s budget.

Pedro:

Because the business of the UN Secretariat has been accepted as being secret and not the business of UN member states. The U.S. has had and still has no access to financial accounting records. The UN has basked in an image of “nobility” until recently. Now the scandals are being featured in the press, but they only scratch the surface of a very unfortunate and tragic situation.

Norm:

What do you have to say about Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s outrageous statements about Israel and how should the UN deal with it? Do you believe they will deal with it appropriately?

Pedro:

By now the UN has not dealt appropriately with the Iranian president’s outrageous statements about Israel. Only belatedly did the UN Secretary-General cancel his trip to Iran, and only with characteristic reserve did he oppose Ahmadeinejad’s pointed remarks. In Iran itself, the Islamic sector of that peculiar government criticized and even rejected Ahmadinejad more forcefully than did the UN Secretary-General.

Norm:

If you had to choose one Secretary-General of the UN whom you believe to be the most effective and competent, which one would you choose and why?

Pedro:

At present the idea of choosing an effective Secretary-General is moot, since the system of corruption and secrecy prevails. The present Secretary-General is no more corrupt than his predecessors who succeeded Dag Hammarskjld. The system has to change and the secrecy has to be replaced by total transparency because the UN BELONGS to its 191 member states. Under the present set-up no secretary-general, however well-intentioned, would make any difference. No self-respecting international leader would accept to be hobbled under the existing system. However, the present practice (of 50 years) of only appointing secretaries-general from small, third world countries, should be scrapped. A capable candidate should be considered from any member state after the UN Secretariat is thoroughly informed.

Norm:

How have you used the Internet to promote your books and your ideas?

Pedro:

I have a website, which needs much refurbishing because it is too big and diffuse. Amazon.com peddles my books and Doubleday has put my latest one on its website. I believe the Internet has tremendous potential, but I have a lot to learn.

Norm:

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Pedro:

Anti-Semitism has been the scourge of Europe for more than 500 years. I believe it destroyed Germany in the last century. It is still not recognized that over 4 million Jews and millions of other victims of WW II were, in fact, Germans. Anti-Semitism is raising its ugly head again because it has never died. That it should be an underlying force at the UN, equated with opposition to the U.S., is not only tragic but extremely dangerous for Israel, for the U.S. and most of all for the viability of any future version of the UN.

Thank you once again Pedro and good luck with your book.

Norm Goldman is the Editor of the book reviewing and author interviewing site, http://www.bookpleasures.com

Bookpleasures.com comprises over 25 international reviewers who come from all walks of life and who review all genre.

Norm personally offers an express review service that you can find more about by going to http://www.bookpleasures.com

Comments Off

There are more than a few opinions on this whole sordid affair. Many have spoken at length, sometimes borderline long-winded, about it. That said, as far as I’m concerned, the Gomery Report and the Sponsorship Scandal is the best thing to happen to Canada since the invention of maple syrup!

Some people claim PM. Martin was exonerated by Gomery, but he wasn’t, not really.
On pg. 25 of the report, Gomery states clearly that all members of the Liberal
cabinet at the time the sponsorship program began (being finance minister, Martin
was the most powerful Cabinet member then) had at least some knowledge of it,
therefore share the responsibility.

But that’s really irrelevant. The country today is more divided than it ever was in the
past. Not much would change if an election were held tommorrow. The west would
stay Tory, the Conservatives would lose a few seats in Ontario, and the Grits would
lose a few in Quebec. Maritimers would mostly go Grit because they’ll support any
party that promises to keep the welfare culture going. And diehard Liberal
supporter’s like Derby, Iceowl and Rev Blair will always turn a blind eye to Liberal
corruption or mismanagement because they like the party.

That’s the difference between Liberals and Conservatives. Conservatives, because
they are made up of a certain political ideology, are possessed of a strong enough
moral compass that ensures they will to punish governments who become lazy and
corrupt. That’s what happened to Mulroney in 1993 when many of us true
Conservatives decided his government had to go. Liberals (the party not the
ideology) by their very definition are devoid of integrity, and will hold their nose and
vote the same way regardless of the quality of their party, it’s candidates or their
ideas.

Regardless, I’m pretty happy. The commission’s criticisms of Chretien and his
vigorous defence against them have ensured the civil war within the Liberal party
will flourish. Boy, it’s going to be pretty hard for Paul Martin to lead a standing
ovation in caucaus for Jean now! Especially since the current Prime Minister has
stated unequivocally he accepts the findings of the Gomery Report. Expect lot’s of
nasty articles in the nation’s press from the Warren Kinsella’s and Sheila Copps’ of
the world!

Second, although Martin’s useless and weak, I don’t despise him. I don’t despise
Chretien either. I am starting to dislike him. And watching him mumble and try to
string together a bunch of barely coherent sentences as he blamed Gomery’s report
and the Sponsorship Scandal on Mulroney was almost insulting! And the findings of
this report ensure that he’ll be remembered in history as the MOST CORRUPT PRIME
MINISTER IN CANADIAN HISTORY!

Thirdly, as a devoted fan of irony in all it’s forms, I’m savouring the delicious irony
that the main effect of the sponsorship scandal (which was designed to combat
Quebec Separatism) has been to re-ignite the fires of Quebec separatism! Given the
current state of the Jean Charest Government, we may be fortunate enough to see
another referendum before the end of this decade. God willing, Quebecer’s won’t
suck out and vote for the status quo this time, because given modern demographics
this may very well be their last chance to go!

It’s also going to be fun for Conservatives to sit back and throw spears at Jack
Layton for supporting the corrupt Liberals. Everyone knows there won’t be an
election before next year, so Harper and the boys have free reign to sit around and
lump the NDP in with the corrupt Libs for supporting them. That must stick in Jack’s
craw. After all, he sold his soul to support the Libs in order wrestle some spending
out of them. Despite that, he’s actually lost support in the polls since. Sucked in!

Yep, should be a fun winter. I’m loving it! It’ll be fun watching you Grits try to
defend themselves in the run up to next spring’s election as they lurch from crisis to
crisis. After all, it’s only a matter of time till the next David Dingwall controversy
erupts!

http://www.lonelycanuck.com

Comments Off

One other significant problem for freedom of reporting is that despite the existence of guidelines for how embedded reporters should be treated, the individual experience of reporters can be largely controlled by the local commander in charge of them. In fact, during the first Persian Gulf War, the informal restrictions imposed on some journalists were so onerous that they were unable to transmit any information until after the conclusion of the conflict. Sherry Ricchiardi, Preparing for War, AMERICAN JOURNALISM REVIEW, March 2003. Even in the recent Iraq War with a stated policy of encouraging freedom of reporting, many commanders did not honor the spirit of the program and imposed their own restrictions on coverage. Jack Shafer, Embeds and Unilaterals, SLATE, May 1, 2003. This potential for local veto over coverage is especially disturbing given that one of the primary benefits of embedded journalism programs is supposedly the ability of embedded reporters to perform their watchdog functions on the ground. If a local commander can make snap decisions to restrict access, the benefit in terms of deterring or monitoring potential atrocities or violations of the rules of warfare is minimized. Only a unit that knows that all of its activities could be reported will be restrained by the presence of an embedded journalist.

The embedded reporter program creates problems for the independence of the press even outside of those who are members of the program. During the Iraq War, the embedding program created a “credentialing” system in which members of the media were only considered officially acceptable if they were embeds. Id. This resulted in a backlash against non-embedded reporters, who “were often treated as pests with no right to the battlefield . . . [i]n many instances, the military prevented unilaterals from covering the war.” Id. This informal credentialing system is a disturbing development that threatens to erase any contributions that embedded journalism could make to the media’s ability to freely and accurately cover wartime events.

IV. Constitutionality of Restrictions on Coverage

Embedded journalists in Iraq were forced to comply with a number of restrictions on their movements, actions, and coverage of the war. These restrictions were wide-ranging, placing specific limitations on what kinds of information could be released by journalists and on what activities they could perform in search of information. The existence of prior restrictions on the ability of journalists to discuss and report on specific activities raises First Amendment questions and, even if it is not unconstitutional, should be analyzed and critiqued to determine their effect on the freedom of the press.
The rules that embedded reporters were expected to comply with arguably compromise their integrity and would violate the First Amendment for those who, like Justice Douglas, believe that “no law” means no law. Reporters were not allowed to travel independently, restricting their ability to verify information they were given or seek outside information on the events they witnessed with their units. See Jenson at 22. Interviews had to be conducted on the record, decreasing the likelihood that soldiers would give up unapproved information to the journalist for fear of reprisal. Id. Officers were permitted to censor or temporarily restrict electronic transmissions. Id. There were also several reporters who were removed from their units for “allegedly giving too much information about troop locations on television.” Id. The Pentagon issued a long list of guidelines of information that embedded reporters were prohibited from broadcasting. Reporters were always subject to local restrictions by the commanding officer. Id. While there would certainly be good reason in many situations to prevent specific pieces of information from being broadcast, the restrictions likely also encompassed a great deal of information whose publication would make no difference to the war effort.

Under Justice Douglas’ literal view of the First Amendment, it is plain that these regulations should be unconstitutional. If no law means absolutely no restrictions, then military control over the ability of embedded journalists to file their reports is plainly unconstitutional. Other, more permissive scholars of the First Amendment might apply the Court’s tiers of scrutiny to determine whether the restrictions served a compelling government interest. For a fairly recent judicial outline of these tiers of scrutiny in application, see Madsen v. Women’s Health Center, 512 U.S. 753, 761-66 (1994). While Justice Douglas’ absolutist view is not generally accepted law, it does raise several First Amendment questions regarding embedded journalism. Most modern courts would probably be deferential to virtually any decision by the military on the grounds that journalists voluntarily agree to the restrictions in exchange for access they would not otherwise have and on the basis of the political question doctrine and a general reluctance to question executive decisions in wartime. See Michael J. Glennon, The United States Constitution in its Third Century: Foreign Affairs: Distribution of Constitutional Authority: Foreign Affairs and the Political Question Doctrine, 83 A.J.I.L. 814, 815 (1989) (”In modern American society, these justifications for judicial abstention seem increasingly to be calls for judicial abdication.”) Even if court chose to hear a case in this area, in past censorship cases involving the Persian Gulf War the conflict was militarily resolved so quickly that courts dismissed pending cases on the grounds that they had been rendered moot. See Nation Magazine v. United States Dep’t of Defense, 762 F. Supp. 1558, 1570 (S.D.N.Y. 1991) (dismissing censorship case on grounds of mootness because the war had ended and restrictions had already been removed). The judicial system may, in any event, move too slowly to serve as an adequate check on these restrictions. A rejection of Douglas’ interpretation, however, does not end the debate about whether embedded journalism is harmful to free speech interests. Individual rights may be more broadly protected by constitutional law than the plain text of the constitution suggests. Even if the constitutional “penumbra” does not encompass some protection of the ability of the media to perform its functions as either informer or watchdog, the ideals of free speech extend more broadly than the text of the First Amendment. The restrictions imposed by the military on embedded reporters may violate these principles without being technically unconstitutional. Erwin Knoll, National Security: The Ultimate Threat to the First Amendment, 66 MINN. L. REV. 161 (1981).

Teve Torbes is a prolific author about such subjects as fleas along with his favorite thing which is an air mattress. He has also created a valuable air purifier site.

Comments Off

NATO enlargement is doubtless one of the most important issues in NATO-USA relations and in attitude of American politics towards this organization. Therefore, in dealing with American-European relations within NATO, it is impossible to question the issue of enlargement of this alliance.

NATO enlargement towards Central and Eastern European states was originally the major project in seconding NATO’s viability. The purpose of the first enlargement round was regarded by the USA in preservation of NATO as a form of military-political cooperation between the USA and Europe and conservation of American influence on European security along with strengthening Western military potential for resistance of possible, even in post-bipolar era, threats from the East.

To this end, and also with the aim of overcoming alarm of many European allies as to Russian attitude towards enlargement, American diplomacy took to creation and consolidation in Western-European and American political discourses of idea on additional NATO’s function as an organization focusing on spread of democratic values and institutions and stabilizing internal political situation in member-countries.

North Atlantic Alliance as instrument of promotion of democracy and stability was accepted by the European leaders as indubitably necessary. In that way, having ensured Europeans’ consent to such broadened understanding of NATO’s function, the United States consequently brought the conflict with Russia to acceptable intensity level by providing Moscow with “special status” in its relations with the Alliance, which was fixed in Fundamental Act between Russian Federation and NATO, signed in May of 1997.

The current article isn’t aimed at complete revealing of all the details of NATO enlargement process but instead focuses on the principal issues of American policy shift regarding NATO in general and its enlargement in particular.

While in the early January of 1994 the text of President’s State of the Union” speech noted that American security will further depend on the US ability to most effectively ensure democratic development of Eastern European states, in this way putting particular emphasis on principal role of NATO enlargement for American interests, in the late 1990s and early 2000s this approach fundamentally changed.

When in the middle 1990s there emerged an issue of NATO preservation in new circumstances, the United States regarded their North Atlantic allies as potential assistants in carrying out their military operations worldwide in interests of America. But Washington’s expectations concerning significant military contribution of Allies confronted with a cruel reality. For the USA, 1990s became a period of more intense economic growth as compared to the Europeans. This was attended by fast technological progress, particularly in military industry. At the same time, European Allies shortened their military budgets. Thus, 4,565 million dollars, being merely 13-% rise in American military budget, turned out to exceed total budget of any of NATO allies. By the end of the decade, this trend led to the fatal gap of Europe from the level of American military and technological potential. The Allies, apart from Great Britain in some particular cases, proved simply unable to grant the USA assistance in military operations requiring decent technological level.

This gap very soon was revealed in action yet before the launch of second NATO enlargement debate. Thus, among the NATO resources involved in Yugoslav military campaign in spring-summer of 1999, American resources played the principal role: about 60-70% of air force and 80-90% of cruise missiles were American. During anti-Talib operation of autumn 2001 even British contribution couldn’t be compared to American: more than 90% of resources and 95% of advanced technology armaments were supplies by the Americans. American government was aware, already before taking decision on anti-Talib war launch, that there was no chance of reckoning on something more than political support and some complimentary military functions on NATO’s part.

The last point demonstrating Washington’s attitude to the enlargement process was elaboration of Iraqi operation implementation scenario in 2002-2003, which didn’t even include NATO as military structure along with a number of minor allies. Among other reasons, this happened because absence of internal accord within North Atlantic Treaty Organization concerning necessity of the operation, firmly advocated by the USA and Great Britain.

Consequently, American interest in NATO as a block of military allies in many ways expired. The main mission of the Alliance for the United States now turned into political and back support of American military operations.

Such shift of mission caused change of American agenda for NATO. In such circumstances, avalanche-like Alliance enlargement became the most appropriate way of enlargement. Therefore, on Prague summit, the invitations to enter NATO were made to seven states: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Estonia. Many of these states had to undergo a long way at least to reach the level of first-wave entrant states. However, in what concerns political support of American military initiatives, newly invited counties showed their support of American policy right away after Prague summit in discussions, and then in actions relating to Iraq in 2002-2004.

Since mid 2002, American political analysts have been growingly talking on shifting NATO’s role from military ally of the United States and instrument of collective protection of Allies’ security into “platform for coordination and facilitation of joint diplomatic actions with the uniformly thinking allies”. Besides, another advantage from mass enlargement of NATO to Easter-European countries was mentioned: possibility for the United States to “concentrate on other regions” after enlargement.

Read other articles in the series at Politics.

Having just received his master’s degree in international relations, Patrick Hume has already proven himself as an outstanding writer in the field of political science. Articles by Patrick are notable for his thorough analysis, judicious criticism mixed up with specific candour. Get to know Patrick Hume better at Custom Research Writing Help, a website Patrick writes for.

Comments Off