– NATO...Are Its Final Days Just Ahead

Afghan mission ’could end Nato’
On-line International News Network

BRUSSELS: Former secretary general of Nato Lord Carrington has warned that the current mission in Afghanistan could sound the "death knell" for the organization.

Lord (Peter) Carrington, who was Tory foreign secretary from 1979 to 1982 and Nato secretary-general from 1984 to 1988, was critical of foreign powers who were not backing the mission with sufficient fighting troops.

He agreed that France and Germany were not "pulling their weight" and said the organization was "not working" at present.

Lord Carrington told GMTV’s The Sunday Programme that if the mission in the country did not succeed, questions would be asked about the usefulness of the organization.

Speaking to fellow former Foreign Secretary Lord (David) Owen, who suggested the mission could lead to defeat, he said: "Not just defeat, I think it may be the death knell for Nato.

"I think when you get a situation in which so many countries in Nato are not prepared to join in and those that do join in say ’We mustn’t fight’...I think this is very dangerous for Nato.

"I think we ought to ask ourselves if this doesn’t work, what on earth Nato is for?"

He added: "What happens in Afghanistan is going to have an enormous impact on the future of Nato.

"Those of us who supported the Nato intervention in Afghanistan feel that the rest of Nato or large parts of Nato are not really prepared to take any part in it. I think its going to cause a great difficulty."

Lord Carrington resigned as foreign secretary over his department’s failure to foresee the Argentine invasion of the Falklands.