Bosnia and the Kosovo Campaign have been the first two tests of NATO's new mission for crisis management, and the Alliance made several mistakes that call into question its suitability to manage crises. Most damagingly, NATO failed in the effective use of force. Political leaders did not identify objectives.

But NATO also has three unique advantages: it builds consensus among the major Western democratic governments; has no peer in planning and conducting multinational military operations; and ensures US participation.

These make NATO a likely participant in managing European crises, provided that NATO governments -and particularry the US Administration- improve their record in future crises and use military force more effectively.