AT A CROSSROADS. Manfred Worner, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's first German-born secretary general who died of cancer in mid-August, was a constant thorn in the side of complacent governments keen to view the end of the cold war as an excuse to downgrade the importance of security issues. His successor, likely to be appointed by November, will be just as tough minded -- or will go down in history as the person who presided over the 45-year-old alliance's demise.
Within months, NATO may be called on to intervene in Bosnia's civil war. A failure to act would destroy the alliance's credibility, but a decision to move could tear it apart. So far there is no consensus either way. Efforts to position NATO closer to Eastern Europe are bogging down in procedural arguments and worries over how Russia might react. Spending cuts by all 16 member states have begun to undermine NATO's core military capabilities. And nagging doubts remain about the durability of America's commitment to the defense of Europe, doubts made worse by deep-seated divisions over the purpose of the alliance now that it lacks a clear enemy.
By convention, NATO's secretary general is a European and its military commander an American. But today the issue is whether anyone, regardless of nationality, can give the alliance new impetus. Two very different candidates to replace Worner have emerged. If Hans van den Broek, a former foreign minister of the Netherlands, is chosen, it will be a sign that advocates of a stronger NATO retain the initiative. Should Norwegian Thorvald Stoltenberg, the United Nations' mediator in Bosnia, get the nod, it will indicate that NATO has opted for the quiet life despite the high risk of disintegration.
