Soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO had begun to be considered a redundant organisation which should have died with the end of the cold war. However, NATO has suddenly taken a new life under the leadership of its the then Secretary-General Mr. Javier Solana, it has been elevated to play a new role in European and North Atlantic affairs.
A historical decision was made when the US agreed to let European members of the NATO play a greater role in organising future NATO operations. For the first time, the US conceded that the US’s European allies in NATO should enjoy “political control and strategic direction” of the military missions they run. European nations will have flexibility to launch military operations without the United States. All this, in turn gave fresh dimensions to the Atlantic Alliance, which emerges as more flexible and less focused on East-West confrontations.
For the first time in NATO history, NATO has embarked on an epoch making mission, first operation outside Europe to Afghanistan has widened the role of NATO after the end, of the cold war.