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NATO Prepares Military Overhaul to 'Root Out and Destroy' Terrorist Threats
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
By Paul Ames
Canadian Press Writer

German Defence Minister Peter Struck is expected to attempt to repair ties with the Americans at the meeting. One thing that might help is an offer from Germany to take a leading role in the International Security Assistance Force in the Afghan capital Kabul when Turkey's mandate runs out at the end of the year. The United States is anxious for its European allies to take on such roles as part of a larger effort to relieve its own load. America spends 85 per cent more on defence than the other 18 allies combined.

WARSAW -- CP
NATO must quickly refocus its military muscle so it can "root out and destroy" threats from terrorists or renegade states, the head of the alliance told defence ministers Tuesday at the start of talks to overhaul the 53-year-old alliance.

"NATO played a key role in defeating the threats of the Cold War," said Secretary General George Robertson. "We must now transform our alliance so that it can play an equally pivotal part in the war against terrorism and the dangers of weapons of mass destruction."

As part of that transformation, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was to present plans for a rapid response force of about 20,000 U.S., European and Canadian troops capable of mobilizing for combat within a week to 30 days.

Officials said the new force could comprise elite ground troops, AWACS radar planes, shared allied intelligence, naval units and chemical-biological defences.
(More: Canada.com News Source)
2002 © The Canadian Press.

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