Montenegro joins NATO

[Ash]

Do they have to install a slightly bigger table every time a new country joins?

http://news.antiwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/nato.jpg

[Pat Vegas]

they should do a timelapse of it expanding.

Or perhaps they bring in a crappy spare table that's a different height. A bit like the emergency table you might find at a Christmas dinner.

[redgunamo]

Do they have to install a slightly bigger table every time a new country joins?

http://news.antiwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/nato.jpg

No. Parkinson's Law, innit.

[Ash]

No. Parkinson's Law, innit.

Ah. So the table expands to meet the needs of the expanding table.

No wonder Russia is worried.

[eastgermanautos]

Ah. So the table expands to meet the needs of the expanding table.

No wonder Russia is worried.

They just have him skootch on in there, making room on either side.

[redgunamo]

That photograph is just for the cameras, so to speak. Clearly such a large gathering is unwieldly and awkward making discretion, for example, impossible to assure. Therefore the three or four key, principle players have long since taken to meeting privately, independently of all the others. They pass little notes to each other; "Lunch tomorrow, my club. We'll sort it all out then."

So that conclave, assembly, and its table, can continue to grow as large as it wants as it will make no difference to anything. But it does, however, look better on television.



Ah. So the table expands to meet the needs of the expanding table.

No wonder Russia is worried.

[Ash]

That photograph is just for the cameras, so to speak. Clearly such a large gathering is unwieldly and awkward making discretion, for example, impossible to assure. Therefore the three or four key, principle players have long since taken to meeting privately, independently of all the others. They pass little notes to each other; "Lunch tomorrow, my club. We'll sort it all out then."

So that conclave, assembly, and its table, can continue to grow as large as it wants as it will make no difference to anything. But it does, however, look better on television.

Well, yes. I'm not quite so naive as to think that ordinary NATO members get any say in NATO policy. ;-)

[redgunamo]

Well, yes. I'm not quite so naive as to think that ordinary NATO members get any say in NATO policy. ;-)

Oh, that's not fair. These committees are always kaleidoscopic in nature, so there'll always be issues that, say, we cannot be bothered with which will nonetheless be of particular, pressing concern to, for instance, Montenegro. So in these cases, they and one or two of their similarly affected friends will assume responsibilty and leadership and send e-mails to each other about dinner and so on.

All under the same NATO-aegis though because everything isn't always all about us :-)