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http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1031119541721&p=1012571727166 Financial Times September 22, 2002 Rumsfeld to press reluctant Nato on new strategy By Judy Dempsey in Warsaw -A senior Nato diplomat said the exercise was set on Nato's southern flank in Turkey. The first sign of a possible threat was a thick toxic fog drifting towards the country from a hostile neighbour, an imaginary country that could have been Syria, Iran or Iraq. -That prompted Nato into calling for an "article 5" response, obliging member states to come to the collective defence of Turkey. Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, will on Monday press Nato for support in possible operations against Iraq when the alliance's defence ministers discuss the issue for the first time during their two-day meeting in Warsaw. Diplomats say Mr Rumsfeld will have difficulty persuading the 19 Nato members of the new US doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, a main element of President George W. Bush's national security strategy presented to Congress last Friday. Some allies think pre-emptive strikes too dangerous or contrary to international law. This became clear eight months ago when Nato was forced to break off a confidential crisis management exercise because of disagreements over how to respond to a mock chemical attack. The US, Turkey and the Czech Republic supported pre-emptive strikes. Germany questioned their legal basis. Britain played for time. And in an unexpected scenario, France said Nato had to seek endorsement from the United Nations Security Council. The exercise, on computer, involved liaising between Nato and the member states. Planned months before September 11, it was designed to establish how the alliance would react to a possible biological or chemical attack on a member state. A senior Nato diplomat said the exercise was set on Nato's southern flank in Turkey. The first sign of a possible threat was a thick toxic fog drifting towards the country from a hostile neighbour, an imaginary country that could have been Syria, Iran or Iraq. Nato's weapons of mass destruction centre soon provided analysis and concluded the enemy had the capability to deliver biological and chemical weapons. That prompted Nato into calling for an "article 5" response, obliging member states to come to the collective defence of Turkey. "At that point, the exercise was stopped," said an ambassador. "There was a real fear it would pull Nato apart," he added. Another diplomat said the exercise was broken off because of fears it might be used as a precedent by Washington when Nato, in the real world, would have to respond to Washington's requests for launching any pre-emptive strike. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org 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 ==^================================================================
