Alwaght- After collapse of the Soviet Union and thus end of the Cold War, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) redefined the so-called threats posed to its members from communism to terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and risks of proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), arguing that the three new types of dangers had instances in the West Asia region.
The threats drew more serious attention of the military bloc’s leaders especially after September 11, 2001 attack which triggered heated-up debate about the need to fight organizations such as al-Qaeda and Taliban that were described to pose perils to the global security and peace. Subsequent to the attacks inside the US, the US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq, trying to impose some political and security changes in West Asia and thus cause fundamental transformation there, which according to their mind will push back security challenge from the Western borders and change the balance of power in favor of the West.
Toward this end, after the coalition’s invasion of Afghanistan, NATO assumed the duty of leadership of international Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since August 2003, claiming to help the new Afghanistan government to complete own establishment. The operation area of the ISAF was initially limited to Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Then the UN broadened the coalition’s area of work to cover 13 provinces in north, west and to some extent south of the country, reaching nearly 75 percent of the Afghanistan’s territory.
NATO added to its combat forces as it was commissioned with further new tasks in Afghanistan. ISAF in 2006 overtook the counterterrorism operation command, practically replacing the US command of the allied forces. One of most significant works of NATO that even expanded the outlook of its presence in the war-ravaged country was signing in September 2006 a security pact with the post-Taliban Afghanistan government which ensured strategic cooperation between the two sides. The agreement in practice recognized NATO presence in Afghanistan as coming at the behest of Kabul.
Still another background triggering expansion of NATO to West Asia region was the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. On the initial stage of war, NATO, struck by internal differences, failed to officially share Iraq’s occupation with the US. But a year later, and majorly after deterioration of situation and increased insecurity that followed the offensive, the US requested to have the military organization on board. Finally, NATO deployed to Iraq in 2004 after an Istanbul meeting of its members' representatives, insisting that it went to Iraq to provide security and train the restructured Iraqi military forces.
Finalized decisions on NATO's entry to West Asia were made in 2004 Istanbul and 2006 Riga summits. Istanbul meeting ended in a declaration, dubbed Iraq Declaration, according to which NATO member states accepted to assist the Iraqi political process and offer training to the armed forces. Moreover, a proposal, dubbed Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, was agreed by the representatives. The plan proposed a road map for cooperation with the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council (P)GCC. Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE immediately joined the initiative, but Saudi Arabia and Oman said they will not join it before further pondering. The proposal covered a wide range of joint work with the six-nation Arab bloc from training and joining counterterror efforts to transparency on defense budgets, as well as making defense-related decisions in close cooperation with the (P)GCC.
In addition to Afghanistan and Iraq, NATO has tried to ensure effective presence for itself in other West Asian hot spots. For example, the organization has been present in the Syrian crisis, though indirectly, since its sparking in 2011, and odds are that it will intervene in Syria directly in the future. Reliable information suggests that NATO personnel in Syria are busy training the anti-Damascus militant fighters. The information adds that special forces from Britain, US, France, Jordan, and Turkey are actively collecting intelligence inside Syria. The strategic experts suggest that NATO's strategy revolves around backing terrorists' operations meant to topple the legitimate Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad. The interesting point is that some European NATO members are part of anti-ISIS international coalition, however, NATO forces have avoided deployment to Iraq and Syria under official NATO brand to fight Salafist-takfirist groups there.
NATO expansion of its range of operation to West Asia within the past two decades is now even further officialized as the organization has recently opened its permanent regional office in Kuwait. This contributes to its bigger role in West Asian developments. As time goes by, possibility of NATO getting Arab members in the long run appears likely.
With regard to the NATO expansion process over time, it is expected to play a bigger role in representation of the West in West Asia via widened operation range in the long term. This motivation could be even emboldened by the strong Russian presence which seeks for Moscow a toehold in the region. Russian arrival to the region and conflict of interests with the West risks transforming the region into a scene of even more spirited Moscow-NATO encounter.
