The European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI), a concept for a unified European military, is "an initiative to encourage," says retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Barry. However, ESDI still has many obstacles to overcome to prove that it is capable and dependable, he says. "The United States wants Europe to begin making military responses to crises," he contends, and a successful ESDI could mean that Europe would be able to assume an active role with the United States in meeting crises outside Europe.

Cragg, Anthony. INTERNAL ADAPTATION: RESHAPING NATO FOR THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW (NATO Review, vol. 45, no. 4, July/August 1997, pp. 30-35)

NATO'S new missions of peacekeeping and crisis management, together with the opportunity to build a new security architecture in Europe, have made it necessary to change the alliance's structure, says Cragg, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense planning and operations. He contends the alliance is "now well placed to respond fully and effectively to the challenges of the new century."

Kitfield, James. A LARGER NATO MEANS BIGGER HEADACHES? (National Journal, no. 29, July 19, 1997, pp. 1467-1469)

Kitfield suggests that issues related to defense burdensharing in the NATO enlargement debate "are already shaping up as possible obstacles to Senate approval next year." The author contends that extending NATO eastward will fill an existing strategic vacuum and reinforce newly emerged democracies in Central Europe. Kitfield also predicts that the alliance may well be preoccupied for years with disagreements about NATO's future growth.

Pipes, Richard. IS RUSSIA STILL AN ENEMY? (Foreign Affairs, vol. 76, no. 5, September/October, 1997, pp. 65-78)

Western leaders should consider whether extending NATO to Eastern Europe is worth alienating the majority of politically active Russians, who see the move as permanently excluding their country from Europe, says the author, who is Professor of History, Emeritus, at Harvard University. The "ambiguity" of a "gray zone" between Russia and the present members of NATO, he says, would actually help assure Russia that even if it is not politically and militarily part of Europe, it is also not categorically excluded. Pipes warns that "immense patience and empathy" are required in dealing with Russia's halting progress toward democracy, and that "failure to display them only helps anti-Western forces."

Rose, Richard. TEDDY BEARS: THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE ARE IN NO MOOD FOR CONFLICT, WHICH OUGHT TO EASE NATO EXPANSION (National Review, vol. 49, no. 16, September 1, 1997, pp. 44-45)

The results of a public opinion survey of Russians support the view that they want peace, says Rose. He contends that, at this juncture, the Russian people are more concerned with domestic problems than with their current role in the international arena. "The real threats to the security of Russians are at home," he says. "Crime on the street and the wholesale embezzlement of assets" by high-ranking public officials and businessmen have demoralized Russians, Rose writes.

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