UNITED-STATES PERSPECTIVES ON NATO FUTURE

This article argues for the continuing relevance and desirability of a transatlantic alliance in the post-Cold War world. Reviewing the natu re and durability of the attachment to NATO in the United States, as w ell as the fluctuations in enthusiasm for military involvement in Euro pe, the author contends that difficulties experienced by NATO in respe ct of the discussions around possible enlargement and its experience i n relation to the Bosnian conflict should not be taken as evidence tha t NATO is no longer an appropriate or useful institution but rather as indications of lessons that should be learnt in order to build on the existing organization to construct a wider transatlantic community ad apted to the new international environment.