NATO 4.0: Key Challenges AND Solutions

By Robert Steele

Summary

Mindful of all that has already been said or written on this topic – including the implementation concepts of Smart Defense and Connected Forces and the issues of the day (cyber-security and missile defense) – I humbly submit that NATO has yet to address the substance of what Admiral James Stavrides calls “Open Source Security.”  NATO can strengthen partnerships globally by achieving intelligence with integrity.  NATO, in alliance with USSOCOM, can claim pre-approved money (IOC 125M FOC 2B) for an Open Source Agency (OSA).

In my view, the three challenges that must be addressed with a transformation mind-set are:
 
01 DESIGN: Learn how to say “no” to the Americans, “yes” to the EU, and “let’s talk” to everyone else. This requires a transformation of how NATO thinks of itself, how it organizes, and how it makes decisions.
02 MONEY: Integrate at the staff level with the EU and become the hub for any other combination of nations so as to use intelligence (decision-support) to both spend smarter, and harmonize resources globally.
03 EFFECT: Create a technical and human factors model attractive to the BRICS and the regional associations, one that can be used to substitute local to global informed consensus for violence, wealth, time, and space.
 
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