Political
NATO's London Summit on December 3 and 4, 2019 displays the deep
political crisis of the 70-year-old alliance: Only a dinner and a short meeting, no statement to be issued, quarrels among the leading military members, accusations, substantial differences on Syria and many other issues, the deepest-ever Transatlantic conflict and the usual issues of burden-sharing.
Legal
But the political dimension of NATO's crisis is only one. There is also a
legal crisis. You'll recognize it if you care to read
the NATO Treaty text - something academic and media people don't generally seem to have done. They would then have noticed that the Alliance of 2019 consistently operates outside - indeed
in violation of - its own goals, purposes and values. For instance, the UN Charter which should be NATO's guideline has been violated on a permanent basis for decades - such as in its out-of-area bombings of Yugoslavia with no UN mandate.
The contempt shown for international law in general and the UN Charter in particular is an integral part of NATO's existential crisis.
Moral
And, third, there is a
moral dimension to NATO's crisis. Of course, no one talks about it.
It's the simple fact that no war that individual NATO members states or NATO as NATO have engaged in can be termed anything but predictable fiascos when judged by the alliance's own stated goals and criteria - just think of Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria...
all crystal clear moral catastrophes causing unspeakable suffering, death and destruction to millions upon millions while achieving none of the stated goals that were set to explain and legitimize these wars such as creating democracy, respecting human rights, liberating women or stopping alleged genocides.
Comment: See also: