NATO - coming soon, to a country near you

At its summit in Prague, NATO has decided that it will grant itself the right to intervene anywhere in the world. This underlines the alliance's change from defence to offence.

A mobile commando is to be created which will be able to be sent anywhere in the world at short notice. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2003. NATO military sources in Brussels and sources in the German Defence Ministry confirmed this. NATO is currently building its High Readiness Forces Headquarters. The German-Dutch corps will belong to this mobile commando, which is expected to take over the running of the International Stabilisation Force in 2003. This could provide the basis for a deeper involvement by the Alliance in Afghanistan. It is odd, when you consider what a success Afghanistan has been, that NATO is making long-term plans to keep soldiers there. Other components will come from Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg. There will also be the Allied Rapid Reaction Force, originally a British unit, to which 14 NATO states now belong. Turkish, Spanish and Italian corps will also participate. The total size of the commando force is to be some 60,000 men.


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