Confronting Euro-Atlantic Security Challenges

Abstract

On 1-4 June 2003, the Mountbatten Centre of the University of South Hampton sponsored a gathering of academics and government officials from Europe, North America, and Asia for a broad-ranging discussion of the interaction between emerging missile and space technologies and today's security concerns.[1] Undertaken against the backdrop of crisis and controversy in the Euro-Atlantic community over the liberation of Iraq, Wiston House, nestled in the quiet of the Sussex countryside, offered a setting for some calm reflection on the state of relations among members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Although these side conversations over dinner or during walks in the English countryside were not part of the official program, they did offer the opportunity for some honest exchanges about what amounted to a pretty dismal spring for the Euro-Atlantic community. Some participants voiced a series of observations about current policies and perceptions that were at odds with much of the media commentary that animates political debate on both sides of the Atlantic. Several themes emerged during these casual conversations.