NATO to Fight Pirates, Not Drug Trade

[unhappycamper]

NATO to Fight Pirates, Not Drug Trade
October 10, 2008
Deutsche Presse-Agentur

BUDAPEST - NATO defence ministers agreed Oct. 9 to deploy anti-piracy warships to Somalia, but they remained deadlocked over plans to step up the fight against illegal drugs in Afghanistan.

At a meeting here, officials said up to seven NATO frigates would be reaching the Somali coast within two weeks, tasked with escorting United Nations' ships delivering food aid to Africa.

The frigates are part of the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group already operating in the region.

"This is good news for the people of Somalia and bad news for the pirates," said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The deployment meets a specific request from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and will complement a similar initiative being launched by the European Union, the NATO chief said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/nato-to-fight-pirates-not-drug-trade.html?col=1186032310810