Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Let’s include Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic in NATO

Wednesday, March 25, 1998 | 10:30 a.m.

SHOULD HUNGARY, the Czech Republic and Poland be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? This issue has been tossed around a little bit by the U.S. Senate and deserves more discussion before a final vote. In the meantime, I've been doing my own research by asking qualified people their opinion and reading the different ideas of people who affect international policy.

This may be difficult for my regular readers to swallow, but I find the recent remarks by Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., making more good sense than many of the people who oppose NATO expansion to include these three nations. It's very rare that Helms is used as a positive reference by me, but, in this case, his logic flies in the face of the conservative Cato think tank and other naysayers.

Retired Air Force Gen. Bill Creech, now living in Henderson, and Reno's retired Army Lt. Gen. Sinclair Melner are two men with the background experience and intelligence that bring more than their share to any policy discussion. Creech's aerial combat experience and international policy contributions have set the highest standard for Americans. Melner, an airborne and infantry combat officer, is also respected for his intelligence and policy contributions. During his long career, one time he served as deputy chairman of the NATO International Military Committee.

Both Creech and Melner support expanding NATO membership to the three countries for several reasons. They see these countries as being a buffer between us and Russia, in case there are, according to Creech, "unpredictable and tumultuous" events in that country. Military bases in Poland are invaluable, because there are parts of Russia that can't be reached by Naval air units. Melner also sees great value in helping nations, that have been dominated by a foreign power, to have the opportunity to come up to modern military standards and protect their borders.

Critics of the proposal say that the inclusion of these nations will make Russia uncomfortable and eventually make them revert to cold war strategies. Retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, writes in the Los Angeles Times that this move by NATO is already an accepted fact in Moscow. He reasons: "Because history has taught the Russians, perhaps better than us, the threat posed when instability reigns in Eastern and Central Europe. They also understand that, insofar as NATO enlargement is the stabilizing force for these emerging free markets, Russia will be a beneficiary. Certainly, they see that the potential flash points of ethnic and religious strife in the region more likely will be managed -- and perhaps even managed out of existence -- in the presence rather than the absence of NATO. Remember, too, that Russia already is intimately engaged with NATO in Bosnia and, institutionally, through the Founding Act."

Might I add that, as far as the cooperation of Russia is concerned, we have had more help from Poland recently than we have from Russia or our NATO ally France. Poland went right down the line in supporting the United States during the most recent flare-up in the Persian Gulf. That's a helluva lot more than can be said for either France or Russia.

Sen. Helms, in Monday's Wall Street Journal, writes that all of his concerns about the NATO expansion have been answered. Included in this is the limits placed on the cost to U.S. taxpayers. Helms believes that "the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland will be among the most reliable pro-American NATO allies we could hope for. Not only do these countries need NATO; the United States needs these countries in NATO. They will be among the first to stand with us in times of crisis, and will support America as we work to ensure that NATO remains what it is today -- the most effective military alliance in human history."

So let's pass the approval of this expansion and then, in two or three years, consider bringing in Romania. A look at the map will explain the reason for adding this country to NATO after the value of adding Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary are fully realized.