05/16/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09887

NATO, RUSSIA FIGHT TERRORISM

Meeting in Reykjavik, NATO members and Russia have worked out an agreement to help fight terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction together. The accord will establish a new council in which Russia will sit alongside the nineteen NATO countries to make joint decisions on a range of issues, including on how to combat the terrorist threat.

This cooperation marks a historic shift in Russia-NATO relations. As NATO Secretary General George Robertson said, "Together, the countries that spent four decades glowering at each other across the wall of hatred and fear now have the opportunity to transform Euro-Atlantic security for the better."

Lord Robertson stressed the need for NATO to develop new military capabilities to deal with threats from terrorists. September 11^th, he said, served as a "wake-up call." "Security threats can no longer be measured in fleets of warships, tanks, or airplanes. Deadly attacks are no longer launched only by governments. And they can strike utterly without warning," said Lord Robertson.

In a statement, NATO reaffirmed its determination to combat the threat of terrorism for as long as necessary. In the wake of the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the U.S., NATO for the first time invoked Article Five. The mutual defense clause says an attack on one NATO member shall be considered an attack on all. Shortly after that, NATO countries also offered support individually. NATO sent AWACS planes to help patrol the skies over North America. Nearly all allies are providing military support in the war on terrorism. NATO countries are also sharing intelligence and tracking down al-Qaida and other terrorist cells throughout Europe.

NATO’s new agreement with Russia was made possible by the spirit of greater trust and common cause in the fight against terrorism that emerged after September 11^th -- endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

NATO and Russia reached their agreement in Iceland near a guesthouse where U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in 1986. The talks those two men held fell short of ending the nuclear arms race, but they did help start the process that ended the Cold War. It is clear now that Russia is becoming a partner in the fight against a new enemy: international terrorism.