The 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States further transformed NATO policy and doctrinal stances. The day after the attack, NATO of its charter for the first time, which requires members to come to the defense of each other when attacked.28 A significant demonstration of NATO interest in enhancing its military capability was its November 21, 2002, Prague Summit decision to create a NATO Rapid Response Force (RRF). RRF was envisioned as consisting of technologically advanced, deployable, interoperable, and sustainable forces with land, air, and sea assets ready to move quickly at NATO Council determination.
NATO also sought to enhance its ability to make agile responses to military crises by replacing fixed mobile headquarters with nine Rapid Reaction Headquarters; inaugurating a program to deal with proliferating mass destruction weapons; and strengthening intelligence sharing to include European and U.S. homeland security.
The biggest change these attacks prompted NATO to make was the decision to begin operations in Afghanistan after U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban regime in response to its support of the Al Qaida terrorist perpetrators of the 9/11attacks. NATO operations in Afghanistan began when the alliance assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003. ISAF represents NATO’s first mission outside of the Euro-Atlantic region and its focus was initially restricted to Kabul. However, UN Security Council Resolution 1510, passed on October 13, 2003, enabled ISAF to support the Afghan Government throughout the entire country.
ISAF’s organizational structure consists of four components, including ISAF Headquarters, which is responsible for providing operational-level direction and planning to the Kabul Multinational Brigade, conducting operational assignments in its area of responsibility, and assisting the Afghan national government and nongovernmental organizations; the Kabul Multinational Brigade, which serves as ISAF’s tactical headquarters responsible for planning, conducting, and patrolling civil-military operations on a daily basis; the Kabul International Airport, which assists Afghanistan’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism in operating this airport; and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), which are civil-military partnerships responsible for providing security and reconstruction in Afghanistan’s regions and helping the national government extend its authority over these regions. These responsibilities are executed by approximately 52,700 personnel from 36 NATO, nine partner, and two non-NATO/non-partner countries.
The biggest change these attacks prompted NATO to make was the decision to begin operations in Afghanistan after U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban regime in response to its support of the Al Qaida terrorist perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. NATO operations in Afghanistan began when the alliance assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003. ISAF represents NATO’s fi rst mission outside of the Euro-Atlantic region and its focus was initially restricted to Kabul. However, UN Security Council Resolution 1510, passed on October 13, 2003, enabled ISAF to support the Afghan Government throughout the entire country.
Consequently, the quality of the ISAF/ NATO response and campaigns in Afghanistan has undergone considerable scrutiny and criticism, and there is signifi cant debate within the international security
community regarding the likely success of ISAF and the overall quality of its Afghanistan operations. Some of this criticism and debate concerns whether individual ISAF country participants are committing enough troops to fi ght the Taliban and giving their forces sufficiently liberal rules of engagement to conduct effective combat operations. the NATO/ISAF performance in Afghanistan will have a profound influence on NATO’s political endurance and military operational viability in future international security crises.
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