Related reading ...

NATO Expansion: 'A Policy Error of Historic Importance' | by Michael McCgwire - Jan 1998 |

The Costs and Dangers of NATO Expansion | IPS - Dec 1996 |

But with the cold war effectively over, NATO will have to find new rationales-it will have to go "out of area," as Senator Richard Lugar predicts, or go "out of business." Without the Soviet Union, NATO needs new enemies. Thus NATO has begun to look outside Europe (toward rapid response to conflicts in the Persian Gulf or the Horn of Africa) and outside traditional military definitions of security (to issues such as crime, terrorism, and narcotics) to justify its existence. By handling these issues within the NATO framework, the U.S. can count on European contributions to offset costs.

Invoking Article 5 after 9/11, NATO received a new lease on life based on the Forever War on Terror ... thank you Ariel Sharon and Bibi Netanyahu. Appreciation for the stupidity and lies of George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy ...

'Sapere aude'

South Ossetia to `take legal steps' towards annexation by Russia

"As a son of our motherland and the president of South Ossetia, elected by the people, I entirely support the idea of joining the divided Ossetian people as part of a united Russia," Gagloev told the Russian news agency Tass on May 14. (Neighboring North Ossetia, home to most Ossetians, is already a part of Russia.)

"From my position, I want to assure the people of South Ossetia that my actions connected with the unification referendum will be directed at observing international legal norms and consultations and the implementation of agreements with the Russian Federation."

Self-determination is prominently embodied in Article I of the Charter of the United Nations

'Sapere aude'