Bush to Propose New Ties for NATO

[NVMojo]

like the coalition of the willing we never met?

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush plans to propose an expanded partnership with NATO for five countries including Japan, Australia and South Korea at a summit of the alliance next week in Latvia.

But NATO will not be expanded at this year's summit beyond its 26 present member countries, said officials at the White House and the State Department.

Bush will also renew his push at the gathering in Riga, the capital of Latvia, for NATO members to raise their levels of defense spending, particularly for the Afghanistan mission, Judy Ansley, a White House National Security Council Official, told reporters Tuesday.

The Afghanistan conflict has intensified in recent weeks, particularly in southern Afghanistan, with a resurgent Taliban and a central government struggling to assert authority.

The president will talk to other NATO leaders about the importance of supporting the mission in Afghanistan, Ansley, the NSC's director of Eastern European Affairs, told reporters in a conference call.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2006/nov/21/112104533.html

[qnr]

1. How the hell are Japan, Australia and South Korea part of the North Atlantic? n/t

[NVMojo]

2. the revised coalition of the willing?

[qnr]

3. Well, I guess that was a knee-jerk response. They don't expect them to become members,

just to increase participation.

[mitchtv]

4. Whatever happened to SEATO?

nt