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NATO spy chiefs mull anti-terror war with ex-foes SINAIA, Romania, April 11 AFP Thursday April 11, 11:31 PM NATO spy chiefs gathered here today with counterparts from ex-communist countries who were once their espionage enemies, to discuss joint strategy in the anti-terror war. They met at a four-day gathering in Sinaia, Romania, called notably to discuss intelligence-gathering as the Atlantic alliance expands into eastern Europe, but also in the new geopolitical reality since September 11. "It is the first time since the collapse of communism that intelligence services from NATO and the candidate states have come face to face to discuss an area as sensitive as information-sharing," said Romanian aide Ioan Talpes. "It took the great tragedy of September 11 to make us understand how close we are to each other," he added. Willem Matser, advisor to NATO Secretary General George Robertson on central Europe, said September 11 had changed everything. "During the Cold War period we had a comfortable agenda, we had common enemies. But after September 11, we don't know where our enemy is," he told the gathering. "Buzz words like terrorism were used five years ago, but now they are used in practically every other sentence," he added. The gathering brings together secret service officials from the 19-member military alliance and the nine countries hoping for an invitation to join NATO at a summit later this year. NATO has made reform of intelligence operations a key condition of entry to the alliance. The former Soviet bloc countries are notably being asked to ensure no former communist-era agents remain in their secret services. The meeting in Sinaia, 120km north of Bucharest, will discuss "Security in the 21st Century," and is being jointly organised by Romania's SRI intelligence services and its counterparts from Luxembourg. The role of intelligence-gathering in the context of the new threats highlighted by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States will be a key theme of the talks, officials said. Officials in Bucharest admitted that many of those present were former foes, but stressed that circumstances have changed beyond all recognition. "We should recognise in each human being the faculty to change and to learn. If in the past an individual had a behaviour that was criticisable and if he realises his behaviour was criticisable, I think this person is a good partner for us in the future," said Luxembourg's envoy to Romania, Fernand Kartheiser. The meeting was hosted in a villa formerly inhabited by Romania's communist-era dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, whose Securitate secret police were among the most notorious in the region. "Sometimes the history of a building can be a source of inspiration. This villa for example, should remind us of our responsibility to fight against dictatorships," said Matser said that while Western countries might have suspicions about ex-communist countries, the reverse was also true. "There were also Western intelligence services that worked against the Romanian state. Is there on the Western side a fresh generation ready to cooperate with your services for the common good?" he asked. But above all participants underlined the changing role of intelligence services. "Society must not be infiltrated by intelligence services but protected," said Kartheiser. Nine countries are hoping to be invited to join NATO at a summit in Prague in November. They are: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. Croatia also wants to join, but is not a formal candidate. By Mihaela Rodina __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org 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 ==^================================================================