ABSTRACT
During both World Wars and Cold War, Europe's security has been entwined with America and the NATO Alliance as the cornerstone of the last 50+ years in protecting a widening transatlantic area of 19 Allies, 10 Aspirants and 16 Partners, with shared Western values, US leadership and its nuclear umbrella. Paradoxically, as these enlargement successes make Europe finally whole and militarily secure in the post-Cold War, both NATO and the EU suddenly face escalating strains against unconventional "New Threats". NATO's strategic evolution is based on the "Open Door" and 1999—2002 Enlargements to 10 Central-East European Aspirants (with others in a later Third Enlargement), who were EAPC members with democratic values, market economies and minimal NATO military interoperability as "producers of security". NATO's Prague Summit (24 November 2002) strengthened Transatlantic security, US leadership and "Out-of-Area" peace-keeping (Balkans and Afghanistan), while continuing the 2001 Anti-Terrorist War and Europe's democratic unification through parallel NATO-EU Enlargements.
