NATO rocked to its foundations

As the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states have gathered in the United Kingdom for their summit this week, the intriguing question has been whether the evident divisions among them would be widened or would they find enough common ground to forge renewed solidarity.

The safe bet would probably be on them papering over the cracks.

Yet the rifts run deep. The bickering between some of the European countries and the United States and even the haggling over money reveal an increasingly dysfunctional family and an ailing military alliance that is struggling to recalibrate its role in today's changing world.