NATO in Combat, Twenty Years On

NATO in Combat, Twenty Years On

Feb 28, 2014 02:00 am | John R. Deni

John R. Deni

Twenty years ago today, NATO conducted its first combat operation in history. Since that precedent-setting event, the alliance has engaged in numerous ‘out-of-area’ combat operations, from Kosovo to the Khyber Pass. As the alliance prepares to end its combat mission in Afghanistan this year, doubts have been raised over whether NATO’s longest, largest operation beyond Europe’s shores might be its last. Such a view is long on the politics of today and short on strategic perspective though, and there is growing evidence to suggest NATO will remain as committed to defending its interests beyond its members’ territory, continuing a trajectory begun exactly two decades ago.
In the skies over Bosnia in February 1994, the allies were responsible for enforcing a no-fly zone established by the United Nations. The UN had initially set up the no-fly zone in October 1992, asking organizations like NATO to assist in monitoring compliance. However, as the war in Bosnia intensified later that year and into the next—and as evidence grew of increased Serbian attacks against civilian and military targets within Muslim enclaves—the UN formally requested NATO assistance in enforcing the no-fly zone, and the alliance obliged.
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