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Summit Puts NATO Transformation in High Gear
Thursday, November 21, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

NATO Secretary-General Robertson said all the leaders at the summit made a firm political commitment to deliver specific, essential military enhancements from heavy airlift and sealift to more precision-guided munitions to air tankers to protection from chemical and biological weapons. "These are decisions, not just declarations."

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- AFIS
While enlargement was the marquee event at the North Atlantic Alliance summit, it really served to highlight that this gathering was a "Transformation Summit," in the words of NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.

The alliance extended invitations to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The invitations, Robertson said, were indications of the NATO theme of transformation. "We have enlarged the alliance, expanded its missions, enhanced its military capabilities and strengthened its partnerships," he said during a news conference at the mammoth press theater at Congress Hall here. "This is not business as usual."

Robertson said the expansion is accompanied by changes in the way NATO meets threats. The North Atlantic Council approved plans to create a NATO Response Force. The force will be fast, technologically superior and sustainable. It will stand ready to deploy "out-of-area" to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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