On February 15, 2006 GFSIS hosted a conference led by former US Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mira R. Ricardel, and former US Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs, Dr. Kim Holmes, which focused on Georgia’s aspirations for NATO integration and US-Georgia relations.  Following concise but potent introduction by GFSIS President Dr. Rondeli, the former US government officials presented their opinions on both security and foreign policy matters that are becoming increasingly important in the Georgian government.  With their arrival in Tbilisi coinciding with an important vote in the Georgian Parliament regarding the status of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, the prospect for greater security provided by NATO membership was in the forefront of the discussion.  Speaking in front of a full audience in GFSIS’s main lecture room, Ricardel opened the conference with some insight into her experience assisting with the “train and equip” program, a military training program for Georgian soldiers that the United States funded and recently completed.  Ricardel also spoke broadly on strengthened US-Georgia ties and stressed how this factor could only help Georgia’s prospects on integrating into NATO.

Dr. Holmes began his presentation by stating the positive effects that a UN peacekeeping force would have in Abkhazia, as he stressed that “there’s no harm in bringing it [the Abkhazia conflict] up to the awareness of the international community”.  The former Assistant Secretary also spoke at length on Georgia’s prospects for NATO membership, citing Georgia’s close ties with the US and how the 2003 Rose Revolution played in perfect harmony with the Bush Administration’s foreign policy doctrine of ‘transformational democracies’.  However, Dr. Holmes did not exclusively present Georgia’s NATO hopes in a positive manner.  In light of the recent NATO enlargement to 26 countries, Dr. Holmes cautioned the audience of Georgian public and civil servants that NATO “fatigue” is a serious factor to consider alongside Georgia’s merits and assets to the international organization.

The last half of the evening was reserved for an open discussion, as members of the audience challenged the speakers on issues ranging from the possibility of a 2008 NATO accession date for Georgia to the affects NATO membership would have on Georgia’s relations with Russia.  Yet starkly different national assessments of NATO’s functions came to the forefront after Dr. Holmes mentioned that Russian containment was no longer NATO’s primary function. Wasting little time, a Georgian audience member was quick to point out to the former Assistant Secretary that Georgia’s primary purpose in seeking membership into the NATO alliance certainly is to inhibit Russian aggression.  Even after Ms. Ricardel acknowledged that “it’s not easy to be Russia’s neighbor or have them as an unpaid tenant”, the distinction was clear between the perceived reality on one side and what is indeed reality on the other.

The conference was concluded with a positive outlook on Georgia’s NATO prospects.  While both speakers gave a generally positive assessment of Georgia’s progress in implementing necessary post-Revolution reforms, they were reluctant to provide assurances that NATO membership for Georgia is inevitable.  However, stressing Georgia’s contribution to US regional interests, Georgia’s close ties with the United States will only help it achieve its long term foreign policy goals.

Author: Jeremy Gordon, GFSIS Intern