Borawski and Young provide a serious analysis of the major issues confronting European-North American relations. They draw detailed attention to the fundamental political and military issues before the Atlantic Alliance.

They illustrate that NATO remains essential to Euro-Atlantic security. Only the Atlantic Alliance can bring to bear well-tested military capability under US leadership to promote its members security, interests, and democratic values. However, to remain vital, the Alliance must undertake a serious review of its major purposes: enlargement to the former Warsaw Pact nations, a strategic partnership with Russia, defense against weapons of mass destruction, and a more mature transatlantic relationship drawing on the lessons of the former Yugoslavia. This is an important assessment for policymakers, military planners, scholars, students, and others concerned with current European-American relations.