This ongoing roundtable series was established after the attacks of September 11, 2001 under the co-direction of Senior Fellow Ronald Asmus and Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), to give senior Senators an opportunity to talk to the Administration and a selection of outside experts in an informal atmosphere about NATO’s future after September 11 without the posturing that increasingly has come to characterize hearings on Capitol Hill.

Whereas previous discussions have focused on the impact of September 11 on NATO enlargement and NATO-Russian relations, the focal point of this year’s discussions has increasingly turned to the question of the Alliance’s purpose in a world where the West has increasingly secured its objectives in Europe and where the greatest threat to both American and European security comes from beyond the continent.

Sessions of this series will continue to debate the issues NATO faces in the run-up and aftermath of the Prague summit. In addition, both the Senators involved and the Administration have expressed an interest in focusing on the issue of “What is NATO for?” and how the United States might think about a NATO role beyond Europe.