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The Frontier Post (Pakistan) April 14, 2002 [Among several intentional inaccuracies uttered by the pathological liar and sociopath Lord Robertson is that NATO "had helped the American counterterrorism campaign by defusing the crisis in Macedonia, thus averting a broader crisis in the Balkans which might have distracted Washington as it was taking on the Taliban." One doesn't know where to begin in unraveling this skein of barefaced lies. In fact Robertson and NATO had subverted the internationally recognized government of Macedonia, rescued and legitimized armed terrorists who had invaded the country from NATO-occupied and -administered Kosovo, and thereby contributed to further destabilizing the Balkans a full five months before September 11, 2001 and Washington "taking on the Taliban" whom, at exactly the same moment, it had provided some $40 million dollars in aid.] NATO offers planning help to ISAF Updated on 4/14/2002 2:00:58 PM� WASHINGTON (SANA): In a move that would broaden its traditional role, NATO has offered to carry out the planning for a Turkish-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, NATO's secretary-general, George Robertson, has disclosed.The NATO offer is intended to encourage Turkey to take over the command of the international peacekeeping force in Kabul from the British in June, The New York Times reports. The offer also marks something of a departure for the alliance. It would enlist planners at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military headquarters to help with an operation that would take place far from the alliance's traditional zone of responsibility and that would not be under the alliance's command. "This is very much on the table," Robertson said Wednesday of the offer. The reason for the offer is clear: assembling and managing an international force is a complex task, one that Britain and a handful of other European countries can manage. It involves identifying the precise forces that are needed from an array of countries and determining when and where they should be deployed. But the task is a relatively routine one for SHAPE, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, which is the formal name of NATO's military headquarters at Mons, Belgium. Turkey, a NATO member, is considering the offer but has not yet formally requested help with the planning. "The offer of help from SHAPE in terms of force generation and force planning is very much something that could be quite alive in the next few weeks," Robertson said. "This is part and parcel of the work SHAPE does all the time." The offer is just part of a broader effort by NATO to make itself more relevant in the campaign against terrorism. Robertson sought to make the case that the alliance had an important role to play in fighting terrorism. The NATO chief said the alliance had been making a direct contribution by breaking up Al Qaeda terrorist cells in the Balkans and had sent its early warning AWACS planes to patrol American skies. More generally, Robertson argued that the alliance had indirectly helped the American counterterrorism campaign by defusing the crisis in Macedonia, thus averting a broader conflict in the Balkans that might have distracted Washington as it was taking on the Taliban. NATO, he asserted, also made it easier for European countries and the United States to work together in Afghanistan. Still, to be effective, NATO must close the gap between U.S. and European military capabilities. Robertson has warned the Europeans that they risk becoming "military pygmies" unless they step up their military spending. For the Europeans, the critical shortfalls include airlift, stocks of precision-guided munitions and the capability of air-to-air refueling. European airlift capabilities are so limited that when European troops were deployed as peacekeepers to Afghanistan, many arrived on rented Russian and Ukrainian transport planes, Robertson noted. Regarding aircraft, for example, Robertson said that one way for European nations to fill an immediate shortfall would be to lease American C-17 transport planes until the European-made A-400 transport planes are purchased in sufficient numbers. He also said the US should relax controls on the transfer of military technology to Europe and on defense industry partnerships with European companies. "It shows imagination on the part of the allies," one Western diplomat said of the plan to offer help to the Turks. "NATO doesn't have to choose between running the mission itself or doing nothing. 'There are other things it can do." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
