http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security_briefings/030408 Comments for "NATO spurns Georgia and Ukraine, Jessica Loudis " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security_briefings/030408 <strong>NATO spurns Georgia and Ukraine</strong><br /> <br /> In spite of US endorsement to move <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7328276.stm">Georgia and Ukraine</a> to the next level of NATO participation, European member states have denied the countries access to the Membership Action Plan (MAP), conceding to reconsider in December. Claiming that neither country is stable enough yet to join MAP, pundits have also argued that accepting the countries would strike an unnecessarily hostile stance towards Russia, which strongly opposes their entry and threatened to cancel Putin&#39;s NATO visit if they were admitted. The issue of Georgian and Ukrainian membership revealed a diplomatic rift between the US and France and Germany, who expressed concerns about NATO expanding further into the former Soviet Union. Ultimately, the summit is seen as a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/world/europe/04nato.html?hp">victory for US interests</a>. Though thwarted on Georgia and Ukraine, Washington won entry into NATO for Albania and Croatia and secured a missile defence deal with the Czech Republic that will see a US base constructed in the country as part of the larger &quot;nuclear umbrella&quot;. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security_briefings/030408" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security_briefings/030408">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/terrorism/article/security_briefings/030408#comment Creative Commons normal security briefings terrorism Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:14:51 +0100 j_loudis 36158 at http://www.opendemocracy.net