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PRESS RELEASE1 February 1999 Us Defense Budget Builds Bigger 'Swat Team' When Kosovo Shows Conflict Management Is The Real Capability Gap "NATO has an unmatched SWAT Team, but what Europe needs is more community policing, gun control and gang mediation," said security analyst Daniel Plesch, referring to recent NATO peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans. Plesch, Director of the British American Security Information Council, announced today BASIC’s February 1 release of A Risk Reduction Strategy for NATO, an analysis of European security planning. The US and its European allies in NATO are out of sync over European security. The US demands that its European allies spend on high-end defense capabilities, but the ongoing crisis in Kosovo requires non-military capabilities for the 21st century. NATO's summit in Washington this spring will re-write NATO's strategic mission for the post-Soviet era. Better management of Kosovo-type crises is not yet a US priority, according to BASIC’s research. BASIC proposes new systems, including "Civilian Intervention Units" and weapons reduction programs, to reduce conflict. While less glamorous than high-end military technology, these "low-end" crisis management measures are achievable. The April meeting will also consider NATO enlargement and Russian relations, the role of weapons of mass destruction in European security, and future defense capabilities. A Risk Reduction Strategy for NATO analyses key elements of the six working documents under consideration at the summit, and proposes two "missing documents." First, the report recommends ways in which NATO should develop a policy for crisis management and security sector reform. Second, it outlines a comprehensive concept for arms control and disarmament. "The US agenda for NATO’s new missions includes high-tech weapons and operations in the Middle East and Africa, but does not include conflict prevention, conflict management and weapons reductions," said Julianne Smith, BASIC Senior Analyst and co-editor of the report. Conflict prevention and crisis management, not high-technology spending, are tools which should be used by NATO to address today's new security challenges. BASIC will release the report in European capitals next week. Advance copies of the report are available on request. The full report will be available after February 1 from BASIC's offices and on its website at http://www.basicint.org. UPCOMING BRIEFINGS Washington: Monday,
1 February 1999 London: Tuesday, 2
February 1999 Brussels: Thursday,
4 February 1999 Bonn: Monday, 8
February 1999
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