Again, I could give a long answer or I could say it's essential. It's essential. One of the great benefits of NATO is the protocols, the processes, the shared tactical approaches, the equipment, the interoperability of that equipment—it’s actually transferrable globally and provides the foundation for an effective multinational response to a crisis somewhere.
Without that, the world is left with more and more scenarios where it's the U.S. or it's NATO, and unilateral U.S. action obviously generates a whole bunch of other issues that are much better done within the framework of a multinational body.
I would also say that within the Canadian Forces over the years there have been wise decisions on interoperability. In many cases where the equipment was going downhill, we generally focused pretty heavily on trying to maintain interoperability, particularly with the Americans and particularly within NATO, and that has paid huge dividends.
Many of the command opportunities that Canada has had in multinational operations in recent years simply would not have happened without not only the expertise of organizations, like-minded nations within NATO or like-minded nations outside NATO, many of whom are NATO members, but the knowledge a Canadian commander brings to the table, and also the technical ability to operate effectively together from a command and control communications and intelligence perspective. So there's a trust thing as part of that interoperable aspect.
I'll stop there.