my name is damon wilson. i'm the executive vice president here at the atlantic council. and we are delighted to welcome with us this afternoon ambassador yvo dalder for his speech on nato in the age of austerity, challenges for the future. we're particularly pleased to have ambassador dalder here because today will be his first speech on nato since he stepped down as the u.s. permanent representative to the north atlantic council last summer. and he's giving the speech now as a new board director here at the atlanta council, which we're particularly pleased. the ambassador's always been known for being thoughtful and for being frank and i think today we have the opportunity to hear from ambassador dalder unencumbered, if you will, by any government position. but seriously, after four years of serving as our ambassador to nato we'll have an opportunity to hear from ambassador dalder what he learned during his time at the alliance and the lessons for nato's future as he looks not just to a summit next year but to an alliance post-2014 afghanistan as well. ambassador dalder

i'm damon wilson, executive vice president here at the council. let me echo the welcoming to all of you in our audience and as well as to the ambassador and our team, our partners from norway. this is a conference on nato's deterrence and collective defense. this first panel discussion is on the new challenges and new tools around deterrence. as fred said, this conference today is part of a much larger project that we have called nato in an era of global competition. it's a chance for the council in 2014 to think long-term about where the alliance is going. in essence it's a project to sharpen the purpose and relevance as the alliance as we head into what fred characterized as an inflection point in history. for all of you in our audience, working on ensuring that the summit next year is not just the last summit on afghanistan essentially. but it really is a summit that kicks off a new chapter of nato's future, a healthy future for the alliance. for all of you, everyone knows during the cold war, the alliance was about deterring deterrence. it was

damon. we ran out of time. "nightline" is next. but first the "best man holiday" soundtrack is out now. here with the song "i still have you," charlie wilsonout someone to share and give oh oh oh ♪ ♪ what good is a bed if you're sleeping all alone i'm so happy 'cause with you i'm never lonely ♪ ♪ even if it's not the wind in winter never see another white christmas ♪ ♪ we would go through it together baby you can count on that ♪ ♪ if i'm a star i started hiding and we couldn't make a wish again ♪ ♪ even if the sun stop shining i wouldn't care because i'd still have you baby ooh ooh ♪ ♪ and you have me too baby ooh ooh i'd still have you baby ooh ooh and you have me too yeah ♪ ♪ i'll be here as long as i still have you ♪ ♪ what good is a fancy car with nowhere to go ♪ ♪ if you're just driving down an empty road yeah yeah ♪ ♪ one thing for sure is my arms was made to hold and these lips were made for you so baby kiss me ♪ ♪ even if it's not the wind in winter never see another white christmas ♪ ♪ we would go through it together baby you can count on that ♪ ♪ if i'm a star i started hiding and we couldn't make a wish again ♪ ♪ even if the sun