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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/134542842_nato26.html Seattle Times September 26, 2002 Seven nations linked to Soviets to get offers to join NATO By Robert G. Kaiser The Washington Post -The admission of the nations � all former satellites of the Soviet Union or parts of it [not true of Slovenia] � will bring more than 40 million additional people under NATO's security umbrella, and will stretch the alliance's territory from the Baltic coast just west of Russia to the Black Sea on Europe's southeastern flank. -The war in Afghanistan "provided opportunities for some countries to show that they were capable of acting like allies," and could make a meaningful contribution, one official said. Bulgaria contributed an airfield for refueling tankers supporting the Afghanistan campaign, and Romania sent a battalion of troops into the war zone, using its U.S.-made C-130 transport aircraft. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sent troops to the new allied air base at Manas in Kyrgyzstan to help provide base security. WARSAW, Poland � After months of intense but virtually unnoticed diplomacy, the NATO alliance is set to invite seven Eastern European countries to be new members, the biggest expansion in its 53-year history. Invitations will be issued in November at a NATO summit in Prague to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, according to U.S. and European officials. The admission of the nations � all former satellites of the Soviet Union or parts of it � will bring more than 40 million additional people under NATO's security umbrella, and will stretch the alliance's territory from the Baltic coast just west of Russia to the Black Sea on Europe's southeastern flank. The expansion would legally commit NATO's 19 current members, including the United States, to defend new members' borders as though they were their own. With the addition three years ago of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, the expansion would make NATO a very different organization than it was when the Cold War ended. NATO officials have decided not to announce the expansion until the November summit. President Bush signaled the possibility of this move in a speech delivered here in June 2001. "I believe in NATO membership for all of Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share the responsibilities that NATO brings," he said, adding he had in mind "all of Europe's new democracies, from the Baltic to the Black Sea and all that lie between." The German, British and other governments, concerned over how Russia would react, were still hesitant about admitting the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the only applicants that were part of the Soviet Union and share borders with Russia. The war in Afghanistan "provided opportunities for some countries to show that they were capable of acting like allies," and could make a meaningful contribution, one official said. Bulgaria contributed an airfield for refueling tankers supporting the Afghanistan campaign, and Romania sent a battalion of troops into the war zone, using its U.S.-made C-130 transport aircraft. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sent troops to the new allied air base at Manas in Kyrgyzstan to help provide base security. The last of the seven to be included in the consensus was Slovakia, following parliamentary elections last week. Voters there did not return to office former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, whom U.S. officials viewed as unsuitable to head a NATO country. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu 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 ==^================================================================
