On the face of it, Nato's gathering in Latvia tomorrow has the makings of a small disaster. The ambitious agenda advanced by Washington for the alliance's first full summit in more than two years has stalled, partly because of opposition from France. But out of this genteel antagonism comes an opportunity. The presidents and prime ministers must get strategy for Nato's mission in Afghanistan right.

The Bush administration originally wanted the Riga meeting to be a "transformation summit", focusing on the need to reshape Nato from the defensive alliance that emerged from the cold war. But many of Europe's militaries are slow to transform where it most matters - creating a much more deployable fighting force.