Outgoing US defence secretary says Nato ties must be strengthened to combat global threat of terrorism
The outgoing US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, has said there must be a fundamental change in the transatlantic alliance, as the west faces challenging global threats, including that from al-Qaida terrorists.
Nato should build deeper "regional partnerships" with the Arab League, the Gulf Co-operation Council and the African Union, as well as the Economic Community Of West African States, Panetta said in a speech in London on Friday, before holding talks with David Cameron over the hostage crisis in Algeria.
In a speech at King's College London, Panetta said there was a "window of opportunity to fundamentally reorder the Atlantic alliance. Nato can no longer be an alliance focused on a single type of mission."
He said at a time of fiscal austerity, European countries must co-operate more effectively over defence, as the US and Europe faced "a complex set of threats". Nato needed to be ready to confront the threat of al-Qaida, nuclear weapons projects in North Korea and Iran, and the increase in cyber-attacks, he added.
"We must maintain relentless pressure on al-Qaida, wherever it seeks to establish a safe haven," Panetta said. "We cannot allow al-Qaida to establish a base of operations from which it can conduct attacks on our country or on Europe."
He said Nato was at a turning point: "We are facing some very tough questions: What is the future of a Nato alliance? Will Nato retreat from its responsibility out of complacency or a different set of priorities in the face of growing budget constraints? Or will Nato have the creativity, the innovation, the commitment to develop and share the capabilities it must have in order to meet future security threats?"
Panetta said he hoped the war in Afghanistan was entering the last chapter, though Nato forces were "still in a tough fight there". He said Europe should join the US in increasing engagement with Asia and the Pacific region.
The US defence secretary began his speech by saying the US was working closely with the UK and other countries to assess the situation in Algeria. The US was also in close consultation with the Algerian government, he added.
"Regardless of motivation, there is no justification for kidnapping and murder of innocent people," he said. Terrorists, Panetta added, should "be on notice they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria or anywhere else, not in North Africa, not anywhere … they will have no place to hide".