Atlantic Council

From the People's Daily Online: A senior U.S. official said Friday that NATO's area of responsibility should remain the Euro-Atlantic region, but it can become a platform for coalition operations involving non-member states, as is the case of South Korea and Australia's participation in the Afghan mission.

Alexander Vershbow, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, made the assessment based on the just concluded NATO Strategic Concept seminar in Washington, saying that although NATO remains rooted in the Atlantic, allies recognize threats to security can come from afar.

Although NATO needs to have the capability to deal with the security threats to its members, "it shouldn't transform itself to a global organization," Vershbow said, noting there are plenty of organizations with which NATO can work.  (photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty)