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The North Atlantic Council North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Study Guide The North Atlantic Council North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Study Guide Contents Topic A: Facing increasing Russian aggression ....................................................................................... 2 Introduction to the Issue ................................................................................................................... 2 History of the Problem ....................................................................................................................... 2 The Cold War ................................................................................................................................. 2 Russo-Georgian War 2008 ............................................................................................................. 3 Current Situation ............................................................................................................................... 4 Ukraine and Crimea – Crisis Breakdown ........................................................................................ 4 Other Fears of Russian Aggression ................................................................................................ 7 Measures Taken in the Crisis ............................................................................................................. 8 Past resolutions and country positions .............................................................................................. 8 Questions a resolution should answer ............................................................................................. 10 Topic B: Operation Resolute Support: NATO in Afghanistan 2015 and beyond .................................. 12 History .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Soviet War in Afghanistan ............................................................................................................ 13 Taliban insurgence, 9/11, and the Bonn Agreement ................................................................... 13 The Continuing Conflict ................................................................................................................ 14 The Exit Strategy .......................................................................................................................... 15 Current Situation ............................................................................................................................. 16 Operation Resolute Support’s Goals and Aims ............................................................................ 18 Past resolutions and country positions ............................................................................................ 18 Questions a resolution should answer ............................................................................................. 19 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Chair introductions .............................................................................................................................. 22 Imran Bhaluani – Director ................................................................................................................ 22 Joe Carroll – Assistant Director ........................................................................................................ 22 George Mullens - Assistant Director ................................................................................................ 22 1 © London International Model United Nations 2015 LIMUN | Charity No. 1096197 www.limun.org.uk Topic A: Facing increasing Russian aggression Introduction to the Issue NATO was founded in 1949 to face the threat of the Soviet Union in Europe; despite accusations of NATO’s increasing irrelevance after the end of the Cold War, history is repeating itself as we see Russia increasingly bolstering its activity, both politically and militarily, in Eastern Europe. Russia’s actions in Georgia, Ukraine and Crimea have been met with outrage from the international and particularly European communities, accusing them of infringing on the sovereignty of nations and overusing their power. However, these actions have also called into question other more complex issues such as self-determination and under what grounds a people can be seen as legitimately separate from their home state. The instability in Eastern Europe caused by Russia’s increased activity affects all NATO nations from the UK to Turkey. Political manoeuvres and military activity have both escalated, e.g. through increased reconnaissance flights. The goal of the committee is now to respond to the situation at hand and Russia’s actions, and to form the next step for NATO operations and goals in Eastern Europe. History of the Problem The Cold War The Cold War is the clear starting point when analysing Russian expansion, as the Soviet Union expanded its borders after World War II to include most countries in what we today call Eastern Europe. The Cold War was in simple terms an ideological war between the two models of Capitalism and Communism, and lasted from the end of the Second World War until the early 1990s and the fall of the Soviet Union following Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of Perestroika. While no wars were fought directly on European soil between the two sides, there were conflicts and proxy wars around the world where the two sides fought each other through local actors. 2 © London International Model United Nations 2015 LIMUN | Charity No. 1096197 www.limun.org.uk Map showing the Soviet Union countries in Eastern Europe following the Second World War1 Key examples of this include the Korean War, Vietnam, and Afghanistan where either side was directly involved in a local war fighting a regime of the opposing allegiance. There were also a number of internal conflicts such as the Czechoslovakian and Hungarian uprisings, in addition to several peoples in Europe rising up against their oppressive governments. While the details of these conflicts may be pertinent to the members of the committee whose history includes these incidents, they will not be discussed in detail here. Instead what is key to consider is that many Eastern European countries used to physically be part of the Soviet Union’s territory and almost completely under their control. This has clear consequences for the present day, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was only around 20 years ago, leaving the memory of the Union fresh in the national and political consciousness of Russia and former Soviet states in Eastern Europe. It is worth remembering that Russia’s current president Vladimir Putin was born in the golden period of the Soviet Union in 1952, and has referred to its collapse as a ‘catastrophe’.2 Delegates should keep in mind the recent history of Eastern Europe when looking at Russia’s attempts to expand its influence, especially given that NATO’s original intention was as a military union of Western powers against the Soviet threat.3 Russo-Georgian War 2008 In 2008 tensions between NATO and the Russian Federation reached a climax during the war between Russia and Georgia. The conflict had two main triggers: the consideration of Georgia and Ukraine for NATO membership, and the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that identified themselves as Russian. 3 © London International Model United Nations 2015 LIMUN | Charity No. 1096197 www.limun.org.uk Tensions steadily grew throughout 2008 following NATO’s statement that it would review Ukraine and Georgia’s cases in December of that year. A Georgian reconnaissance drone was shot down over Abkhazia, and thousands of Russian forces entered the reason under the guise of peacekeepers, leading to Georgian outcry. Following the blowing up of a Georgian police van with an IED in July, violence between Georgia and South Ossetia quickly escalated, with South Ossetia being backed by Russia’s 58th army.4 Following approximately a month of fighting between the two sides, Russian forces began to retreat in late August after agreeing to maintain buffer zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Russo-Georgian war is a key element of this topic, as it was a clear show of Russian military intervention in response to the wishes of a country in its sphere of influence to join NATO. Around the same time Ukraine’s participation in NATO was also being considered, and the war in Georgia can be seen as the precursor to Russian involvement in Ukraine. Considering the different perspectives and facts at play in this conflict and several parallels emerge with the current crisis in Ukraine. At the time, Russian media outlets suggested that Russia was being unfairly encircled by NATO. In South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which bordered Russia, lived many Russian passport holders (some of these quite recently) who the Russian government claimed were being prosecuted and needed protection from Russian armed forces. Conversely, the West saw Georgian accession to NATO as an exercise of freedom by a like-minded nation. They saw the handing out of Russian passports as little more than a pretence for Russia to destabilise Georgia to avoid losing influence in a former Soviet state. Current Situation Ukraine and Crimea – Crisis Breakdown The Ukrainian crisis is arguably the most significant event in Europe of the 21st Century, and is still a contentious issue
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