Multinational Military Intervention: NATO Policy, Strategy and Burden Sharing

War, as Clausewitz reminds, is the most uncertain of human political and social activities. It also imposes burdens. In an alliance among states for the promotion of collective defense or security, as in the case of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), burdens that have to be shared include the costs of raising and supporting arms of service, deploying them overseas, and using them in combat or peace operations. Costs of military intervention are not only economic. Wars and other military operations can influence public opinion, and in some cases cause governments to fall. This study looks at the experience of the United States and other member states of NATO in four situations of multinational military intervention: Lebanon, the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and in South Asia. In addition, it considers the implications of nuclear arms reductions and nonproliferation for the U.S. and NATO. Each case study represents an important period in the distribution of power, interest and values that scholars refer to as the 'international system' of states. The five cases of burden sharing among NATO member states (and others) amount to more than a sequential consideration of incidents of military intervention and/or conflict prevention. Furthermore, it provides a vantage point or perspective that evaluates the narrative of events surrounding these cases. These politico-military challenges include a major coalition war; a traditional peacekeeping operation; an exercise in peace enforcement; and a conflict that combines counterinsurgency and counterterror with stability and security operations.