PERSPECTIVE Towards A New NATO Strategic Concept A View from the United States WALTER B. SLOCOMBE June 2010 NATO remains a central element in US foreign and security policy, both as a forum for political consultation and as a military institution. If the new Strategic Concept follows the pattern of the experts’ report, it will be broadly consistent with US perspectives and desires, specifically in its: reaffirmation of territorial defense as the top NATO priority, to be backed by contingency planning and exercises; emphasis on the importance of NATO addressing new threats, such as terrorism, cyber­attacks, and nuclear proliferation; recognition that distant events can affect NATO allies’ security and justify NATO military action; emphasis on a»comprehensive approach« enlisting non-military instruments in support of NATO actions; endorsement of the revised US program for ballistic missile defense in Europe; affirmation of the need for a nuclear element to NATO deterrence as long as nuclear weapons exist, with any changes in US nuclear deployments in Europe to be decided on an Alliance-wide basis; approach to Rus­sia that balances reaching out with attention to the concerns of»new allies«; and call for European military capabilities, especially for expeditionary operations, to be brought more closely in line with NATO policy objectives, and for an end to»precipitous« defense budget declines. US reservations about the approach taken in the report are likely to focus on: the absence of a commitment to greater allied force contributions in Afghanistan; lack of specifics on capabilities improvements and internal reforms; equivocation on the goal of a world without nuclear weapons; absence of explicit support for sanctions against Iranian nuclear and missile programs.