Abstract

The case against NATO Enlargement: Clinton's Fateful Gamble

The U.S. Senate begins hearings this month on the question of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion, following the decision of the NATO summit this past July to extend membership to three former Soviet-bloc countries, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Having earlier won Moscow's grudging acceptance of NATO enlargement with the signing of the NATO-Russia founding act in May, the U.S. President Bill Clinton Administration must now gain Senate approval of its plan to extend NATO'S boundaries. The White House touts NATO expansion as the post-cold war equivalent of the Marshall Plan, a strategic decision that would produce a peaceful and whole Europe, help consolidate democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and insure U.S.'s continued involvement in European affairs.