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| Europe |
| Bush welcomes NATO’s new seven |
| 2004-03-29 |
| U.S. President George W. Bush has formally welcomed the addition of seven new members to the NATO alliance during a ceremony on Monday. Why bother? It’s not like they will receive any support from Chiraq, Schroeder et al., other than bandaids and condolences. The word ’alliance’ has been redefined as of late. And not to mention the EU’s own defense plans. But the inclusion of former communist states Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is raising concerns in Moscow. ... NATO has tried to convince Moscow the expansion is not directed at Russia, but NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who was at the White House for Monday’s ceremony, told CNN much needed to be done to strengthen NATO-Russian ties. I know there are a lot of old-timers here who are still in the cold war mind set, but perhaps Colin Powell is right: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell last week said Russia should view a larger NATO not as a threat, but as a partner. ... My guess is sooner or later we’ll be needing each other to counter another threat which we are all familiar with. Unless, of course, someone like Zhirinovsky comes to power. NATO was established on April 4, 1949 by 12 nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and the United States. How many of these are still in the alliance? Time will tell. |
| Posted by:Rafael |
| #7 That'd be Estonians, rather. Viking types, not knobby-kneed British schoolboys. Darn fat fingers ... |
| Posted by: Puddle Pirate (an American who speaks Estonian) 2004-03-29 9:35:28 PM |
| #6 The Baltics certainly have good cause to worry about Mother Russia, based on recent history. I think it's quite funny to read Russian whining about those warmongering Etonians and Danes. |
| Posted by: Puddle Pirate (an American who speaks Estonian) 2004-03-29 9:34:15 PM |
| #5 Seven new members. Let's see, there's Grumpy, Sneezy, Dopey, Sleepy, Doc...Estonia and Latvia. That right? |
| Posted by: Infidel Bob 2004-03-29 7:44:53 PM |
| #4 LOL! .com. I have several other slow pitches for you this evening. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-03-29 7:42:34 PM |
| #3 hmmm Australia would seem to be a natural fit as well...perhaps we can rename it Gondwanaland Treaty Org to fit them in under the umbrella? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-03-29 6:44:26 PM |
| #2 The Knights Templar? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-03-29 6:24:24 PM |
| #1 NATO was established on April 4, 1949 by 12 nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and the United States. How many of these are still in the alliance? Time will tell. Usually just the UK, Iceland and the US. But when nut cuttin time comes I expect to be joined by Canada, Denamark, Italy, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Poland, the Federal Republic, the Baltic Republics, The Czech Republic. If'im wrong there's a small state in the Med. with a simple (tho extremely well equipped) population who have proven fightin capabilities. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-03-29 6:12:01 PM |