East Central Europe in NATO The New Strategic Concept, Missile Defense, Afghanistan

To this day, the East Central European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation see in Russia a potential threat. This perception influenced their attitude towards NATO's new Strategic Concept. They wanted to see the guarantee of military assistance strengthened and tried to maintain the U.S. military presence in Europe. After the shock of U.S. President Barack Obama's retreat from his predecessor's missile shield plans, only Poland could secure participation in the new missile defence system and a U.S. military presence on its soil. The countries of East Central Europe are participating in Afghanistan not least of all in the hope of convincing NATO and the United States to champion the security concerns of East Central Europeans.