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COURTESY PHOTO -- Norwegian Defence Command
Adm. Sir James Perowne
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, NATO
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NATO Allied commander visits
By Lauren Gilbertson
The Flat Hat
Adm. Sir James Perowne, a former submarine commander and current Allied commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, spoke yesterday at the University Center's Commonwealth Auditorium on "NATO in the Modern World." His lecture was part of the speaker series on international security sponsored by the Reves Center for International Studies.
Perowne's lecture focused on NATO, which he sees as still searching for its role 52 years after the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty.
"There really is only one other country that the [United States] can count on, and that's the [United Kingdom]," Dean Mitchell Reiss, director of the Reves Center, said before introducing Perowne.
Perowne joined the British navy in 1965 and commanded nuclear submarines and frigates before becoming deputy supreme Allied commander of NATO's Atlantic command.
During his lecture, Perowen explained how his office, the only NATO headquarters on North American soil, is helping the organization adjust to the changes in the world.
"We are in a period of unprecedented change in the world ... even more so since Sept. 11," Perowne said.
He emphasized the role of the Supreme Allied Command Atlantic as keeper of the trans-Atlantic link between the world's two biggest economic superpowers, the United States and the European Union.
He also discussed the role of the headquarters in trying to develop concepts and experiment with NATO's direction in the future. Perowne emphasized the importance of the office as the only completely maritime headquarters in the organization.
His next topic considered the changing part played by the armed forces in NATO. The organization, he explained, was designed to be a defensive alliance against the former U.S.S.R., but beginning with NATO's role in the conflict in Kosovo, it has had to make its armed forces less static and defensive and much more deployable, sustainable and flexible.
Having given this background information, Perowne then spoke about NATO's actions since the events of Sept. 11. Since the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., constitute an Article V event, in which one member of the organization is attacked by a group outside of the alliance, the other NATO nations are required to aid the United States in any way they can.
"We are all proud to be able to do something tangible to pay back the immense debt that Europe owes America," Perowne said.
He added that the only military aid the United States has asked for thus far has been for surveillance of U.S. airspace and the sending of ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. He continued to say that, while it is highly unlikely NATO will take part in any military action in Afghanistan, it might play a role in homeland defense, efforts to counter terrorism in Europe and in bringing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
"I've been learning about NATO in some of my classes and I was very interested in hearing about [Perowne's] expectations for it, especially concerning counter-terrorism," sophomore Joanna Watkins said. "I thought he was very well spoken, and made some good points."
Senior Ashleigh Schuller said she attended the talk because she is interested in international diplomacy, but also because her father and grandfather both served in the U.S. Navy, giving her an interest in military issues.
"It's important that students our age stay in tune with what is happening in the world, especially in light of recent events," Schuller said. "I've been impressed with how the Reves Center has gone about informing students ... since Sept. 11."
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