NATO breaking apart?

Question

NATO countries are failing to "step up the plate" when it comes to Afghanistan, said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. This failure, he said in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee, puts the entire structure of the alliance at risk of collapse :

I know, as do you, the members of this committee, that if the world’s greatest democracies cannot summon the will to accomplish a mission that all agree is morally just and essential for our collective security, then the citizens of these democracies will begin to question the mission’s worth – and perhaps even the worth of the Alliance itself. We must not allow this to happen.

See link - http://the4thworldwar.blogspot.com/

Question - What are your thoughts ?

Question 2 - Do you believe we need NATO ?

Forgot the news article - http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/gates-blasts-na.html

Answer 1

I think that amid our unsupportive and unreliable Congress, majority public and upcoming election, I don't blame others for not wanting to follow us at this point.

I am sure that if they knew we weren't going to fall into the hands of say, a Ron Paul, they might feel a bit more comfortable.

It is a shame that this Congress and our current majority attitude has made us appear weak.

We need the cohesiveness that NATO allows us, even if in theory.

Answer 2

I don't see why NATO has to follow us into a useless quagmire of endless war in Afghanistan.

We should have gone it, kicked *** and left, and keep going back if they raise their ugly heads again.

No reason to try and occupy this vast and unconquerable land.

Alexander the Great couldn't do it. Rome couldn't do it. The USSR couldn't do it.

Why would anyone expect NATO to do it?

I wouldn't touch Afghanistan with a 10 foot pole if I were a NATO country, but I would join a quick-strike, logistically-free, and very DEADLY force that could destroy terrorists anywhere on the globe within days. ( and then leave the bodies to rot in the desert sand).