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Introduction:

World War I was named the war to end all wars. 21 years started World War II, liberation struggles and liberation wars in the former colonies, the Vietnam war &ndash; and then the Cold War ended. Anyway came the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, the war in Libya, the war in Syria and the conflict in Mali. Besides there is the on going Israel-Palestine conflict, and two wars between Israel and Arab countries, and the Kashmir conflict, the year long wars in the Sudan and the Congo basin &ndash; and all the others. War has kept being a general tool to settle conflicts and pursuit interests, it seems.

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Most of the western European countries joined NATO after World War II and many former East European countries joined after the collapse of the Soviet Union. NATO became the military element in European politics, and Europe relied very much on US. NATO was originally a military organization with the aim, politically and military, to counterbalance the interests and power of the former Soviet Union. The formulated purpose was defensive, and its operational area was claimed to be North America and Europe. The Cold War meant building up armaments on both sides of the Cold War on a massive scale. As we now know the West won this race of rearmament in 1989. NATO was still a political, military cooperation, but now without its original counterpart, Soviet Union &ndash; which started a discussion about the relevance of NATO.

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The European countries relied to a big extent on NATO and the US in military issues. They did not interfere during the Vietnam war. They let the US support Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meaning a prolongation of the conflict. France could fight a brutal war in Algeria without interference. European countries did not establish a specific European forum to be offensive in European conflicts, though they were eager in the process of splitting up former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia. The US took the initiative to interfere in the civil war in Yugoslavia and later NATO was involved.

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The US invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11. At that time the NATO countries had agreed upon changing the NATO charter so NATO actions were legitimate outside Europe and North America. NATO was thus backing mainly American interests in an Asiatic country. Not NATO, but several European NATO countries participated when the US invaded Iraq. NATO was the political, military body when European countries interfered in Libya. NATO seems to be adjusted along the way according to the interests of its member states, especially the US and western countries in general.

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In the EU there is a discussion whether EU should have a military dimension with an army. This would allow EU to take military initiatives according to specific EU interests, with a growing independence from the US as one of the perspectives. NATO would still be the main military body, and the national armies should still be there for more specialized national purposes like when France involves militarily in West Africa e.g. Mali. The EU perspective on a military dimension seems to be close connected to the wish for supporting and expanding the European military industry. At the moment Europe import a lot of military equipment from especially the US and exports only a little. EU, who received the latest Nobel Peace prize,&nbsp; has rearmament as a political goal.

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The result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown not to be especially positive, neither from the point of view of the national populations of from the side of the western countries. The action in Libya has likewise an unclear perspective for all parties. Countries in Latin America show relative clear opposition to the US. China and India show more and more political, also military, potentials. Maybe NATO, the European countries, and also the US, in the future are forced to take more consideration to other parties in the world. &nbsp;But it is still possible to sell a lot of military equipment.

Directive:

Read the introduction and the questions and make clear the overall aim of the task.
 
Read the files. Use additional sources if you find it beneficial. The origin of additional sources must be noted for control. 
The issues to work with:
<div style="margin-left: 40px;"> 
1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Note the aim of NATO, the members of NATO and who has been in charge of 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;the organization 
&nbsp; 
2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What have been the main policies and actions of NATO during the previous 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;century and why. 
&nbsp; 
3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What has become the new aim and policy of NATO after the end of the Cold War 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;and why, and how has this been implemented in actions taken. 
&nbsp; 
4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Describe the balance between the US and Europe in the structure, in the economy, 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; in the military potential and offensive actions taken. How will this balance likely 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;develop. 
&nbsp; 
5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What are the arguments for NATO expanding its operational area and what are the 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;arguments against. Make your opinion with arguments. 
&nbsp; 
6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An EU army - the interests and arguments for it and the interests and arguments 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;against it. The military situation and potential in Europe in general, and why national 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; armies are not sufficient maybe. 
&nbsp; 
7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Make two pages with the answers to the questions and your version of the military 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;future for Europe.</div>
 
 
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F1

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