In my opinion, if the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Warsaw Pact threw NATO into soul-searching mode, September 11 catapulted the Alliance into a new dimension, a much more complex and challenging one than that for which it was created, prepared and trained. [...] It marked the end of an era of Manichean simplicity – “us against them” – where the “us” and the “them” were clearly defined. [...] The list is long and NATO: A Personal Perspective Page 1 by Yves Brodeur August, 2017 NATO: A Personal Perspective all are factors supporting the need for a political-military Alliance bringing together nations sharing the ultimate goal of fostering and preserving collective security within and beyond. [...] I do subscribe to the notion of a strong Europe and I welcome the determination to create a strong European security identity, but for Canada it inevitably raises the issue of the impact on NATO and on our voice within the Alliance. [...] The celebrated transatlantic link was, is and remains about the United States – perhaps even more so since the beginning of the Trump presidency.