Text Fwd: NATO's 21st Century Priorities: Missile Shield, Cyber Warfare 나토의 21세기 우선권은 미사일 방패와 사이버 전쟁이 될 것임

StopNATO on Oct. 15, 2010

Radio Netherlands
October 14, 2010
NATO to lay out vision for cyber, missile defence


NATO defence and foreign ministers meet Thursday to reshape the alliance into a
modern force against cyber and missile threats, at a time of tough fighting in
Afghanistan and budget cuts at home.

The diplomatic and defence chiefs hold a rare joint meeting at NATO headquarters
in Brussels to deliberate on a draft of the "strategic concept" that will lay
out the alliance's vision for the next decade.

The mission statement will then be endorsed by NATO leaders meeting in Lisbon
next month, replacing a document written in 1999, two years before the September
11 attacks on the United States sparked the war in Afghanistan.

"My firm intent is that the Lisbon summit will put in place an alliance that is
more modern, more efficient and better able to work with our partners around the
globe," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said this week.

The 11-page blueprint, drafted by Rasmussen, has not been made public but it is
expected to touch on 21st century threats including cyber attacks, missiles from
"rogue" states, global terrorism and piracy off the Somali coast.

The ministers will also discuss proposals to reform NATO's command structure and
cut the number of agencies, an idea pushed by Rasmussen to make the 28-nation
alliance "leaner and more efficient."

At the same time, Rasmussen and US officials have urged allies to resist cutting
too deeply into their own national defence budgets despite austerity drives
across debt-laden Europe.

"My worry is that the more our allies cut their capabilities, the more people
will look to the United States to cover whatever gaps that are created, at a
time when we're facing" fiscal pressures, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told
reporters travelling with him to Brussels late Wednesday.

Rasmussen has emphasised that despite tough economic times, allies should invest
in a missile shield amid concerns about the intentions of Iran and North Korea.

The NATO chief also wants allies to invite Russia to cooperate in the
anti-missile shield in order to ease Russian concerns about the aims of the
system.

Gates said there was "broad agreement" on missile defence plans and that the
cost of linking NATO members into a common network was "relatively modest."

Diplomats, however, say France and other nations want more details about how
much the system would cost and how it would work.

© ANP/AFP
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