STRASBOURG, France — European leaders have prepared to host a spectacular summit here to mark the 60th anniversary of NATO.
With President Barack Obama in their midst, officials said, European presidents and prime ministers will walk side by side Saturday morning across a bridge spanning the French-German border while French fighter jets streak overhead. The made-for-television event, they explained, is designed to dramatize not only solidarity among the 26 NATO nations but also Europe’s embrace of the new leadership in Washington.
European officials said Obama is likely to come away from the summit Saturday with a broad endorsement of his idea that stabilizing Afghanistan is a strategic goal for NATO and support for his decision to devote more civilian as well as military resources to eliminating al-Qaeda havens there and in Pakistan. But they also said that summit pleasantries are unlikely to mask Europe’s refusal to commit to major new troop deployments.
