Look out your window. Are pink porcine farm animals soaring through the air? Because Bob Dreyfuss has found a point of hearty agreement with the neoconservatives: the time for NATO is past, Bob declares.

Finally there’s something I agree with the neocons about: NATO. That organization is a dinosaur of the Cold War whose extinction is long overdue. Now, the neocons—whose Iraq project ran afoul of old Europe—seem ready to get rid of NATO, too.

I couldn't disagree with both Bob and the neocons more. I think NATO is indispensable, and no where more than in the area of peacekeeping. In fact, I think NATO should be the successor to the mostly failed project of UN peacekeeping. NATO has shown in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan that it is a far more effective peace enforcement institution than anything else out there -- and places like Darfur are crying out for intervention.

If you are subscriber, or you snag a copy on the US Airways shuttle or something, see my article on UN reform that addresses some of these ideas in the current July issue of the American Prospect.

Posted by Laura at June 28, 2004 05:27 PM