Re: Vote NATO, but vote, Editorial Vol 9, No 2, Jan 20 to 26
I am an American who is in favour of Slovakia holding a referendum regarding NATO membership, as well as membership in the European Union.
While I support the latter for Slovakia, I am opposed to membership in the former. Slovakia, and indeed Europe's, future lies with strong economic, political, and military unions. During Slovakia's history, it has been told which clubs to join (the Warsaw Pact is one example). It is both fair and correct for the Slovak people to have their say on joining the rest of Europe.
NATO is another matter. NATO's purpose has altered with the march of history, and in fact, I'm not quite sure what its purpose is these days. It has in many ways become like the United Nations - a debating society that is so agenda-laden and fragmented that it has been unable to pursue any action that it hasn't been led kicking and screaming into by the United States. So, not only do I think it is unnecessarily expensive, unproductive, and unwise for Slovakia to join NATO, I would go further and claim that NATO itself ought to be absolved.
Therefore, if I were a Slovak voter, I would want the option of a choice and given that choice, I would choose to let NATO go its own way. As an American, if given a choice to stay in NATO or leave it, I would happily vote to leave. The key here is to be given a choice.
Don Merritt
