NATO's future

NATO says there is political will to capture indicted war crimes suspects

In a HARDtalk interview on 19 December, Tim Sebastian spoke to outgoing NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson who insists that NATO is strong and relevant, despite its "near death" crisis prior to the war in Iraq.

NATO suffered its most profound split prior to the war, when France, Germany and Belgium refused a request to prepare to defend Turkey.

The US Ambassador to Iraq, Nicholas Burns, later described it as a "near death" experience for the alliance.

Lord Robertson, the former British Defence Secretary, told Tim Sebastian that NATO bound its wounds faster than other international organisations after the crisis.

He says it is inevitable that 19 democracies will have "rows", but that NATO is stronger than ever, with seven countries about to join and more wishing to do so.

Unfinished business

He repeated his trenchant criticism of European governments for a lack of spending commitment,.

He also insisted there is political will to capture indicted war crimes suspects in Bosnia, where NATO troops are serving.

It is now nearly nine years since indictments were issued for former Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, yet Lord Robertson insists the two will eventually be captured.

Pressed by Tim Sebastian, Lord Robertson says he would have liked to be the NATO Secretary General to tell a press conference 'We got him', as American administrator Paul Bremer did in Iraq, with Saddam Hussein.

Lord Robertson also discusses his controversial future in business, denying there is any conflict of interest in entering the commercial world.

HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 04:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 19:30 GMT and 00:30 GMT

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 04:30 and 23:30