NATO heads of state and government gather on the Franco-German border on Friday and Saturday to hold an anniversary summit, which will be more than fanfare.

The leaders, now 28 in number following the accession of Albania and Croatia on Wednesday, will symbolically cross a bridge on the Rhine, which separates France and Germany. The leaders will hold a ceremony at the bridge to mark the 60th anniversary of NATO.

After the fanfare, however, the leaders will sit down for serious discussions over thorny issues such as Afghanistan and NATO's relations with Russia. They also need to redefine NATO's future role in a changing security environment.

On top of the agenda is Afghanistan. More than seven years after the war in Afghanistan, both NATO and US President Barack Obama have admitted that the NATO-led military operations are not winning the war. Obama last week unveiled a new strategy on Afghanistan, which gives emphasis on civilian efforts, police training, regional factors, as well as a military surge.

Obama had announced his decision to send in 17,000 troops in several months' time to fight insurgency in Afghanistan and another 4,000 personnel to train the Afghan National Army.

At the summit, Obama is expected to ask European allies to contribute more resources, either military or civilian, in Afghanistan.

The NATO leaders will devote their Saturday discussions almost entirely to Afghanistan, which is described as a litmus test for the alliance.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday that the alliance cannot afford to fail in Afghanistan.

Obama, who is attending the first NATO summit as US president, continued his charm offensive on Friday. He was warmly welcomed in Strasbourg by a highly emotional crowd before a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Relations with Russia is another key issue for the NATO leaders to tackle. NATO suspended high-level political talks with Russia after the military conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008. The alliance decided to re-engage Russia in talks in December as it realized that cooperation with Russia on key international security issues, such as Afghanistan, arms control, and terrorism, is indispensable.

NATO leaders will give direction to future relations with Russia. With a new US administration in place, which has distanced itself from the previous Bush administration's policy on Russia, NATO leaders are expected to be reconciliatory with Moscow.

The change of the security environment after the end of the Cold War, as well as NATO's quick enlargement, has caused serious challenges to NATO institutionally.

The new challenges will be an important part of the NATO leaders' discussions on the alliance's future role. The leaders are expected to issue a Declaration on Alliance Security, which will serve as the basis for a review of the alliance's Strategic Concept, a document that guides all NATO operations.

Xinhua

(China Daily 04/04/2009 page11)