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Radio Free Bonnie: The Continued Relevance Of NATO

Bonnie North
NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Lake Effect producer and co-host Bonnie North is away from the station for a few weeks, but she is at work.  Bonnie is a part of a journalism fellowship through the RIAS Berlin Commission that will take her to several countries in Europe.

She recently visited the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for a briefing on the organization’s history and current efforts underway in the global landscape.

"It's a two-way street that we've long had," says NATO head of press and media and deputy spokesperson Piers Cazalet. "Europe is better with NATO and with the U.S. presence in Europe, but the U.S. is better with NATO and with its European allies."

However, Cazalet notes that while the role of NATO is still very important in global politics and events, the public is less informed about its role. “Thirty, 40 years ago, everybody knew what NATO was. It was really in our backyards all the time. Now, we find we have to explain generally what is NATO’s purpose and what NATO does."

He explains to Bonnie why something that started at the beginning of the Cold War is still important to the United States, Canada and other non-EU nations:

You can also follow Bonnie North's journey and see additional photos through her blog, Radio Free Bonnie, that she’s writing on location.

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.