WASHINGTON, Oct 4: Defence ministers from all 19 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) and seven European states invited to join the alliance will hold an unusual secret seminar in Colorado on Wednesday to debate the use of allied force anywhere in the world, a senior US defence official said on Friday.
The Pentagon official, speaking ahead of an Oct 8-9 informal meeting at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, said the “seminar study” would take place on the first day at Schriever air force base.
The official refused to say whether the discussion might involve a hypothetical terrorism incident or even to call the meeting an exercise, but said it would include debate on responding to a “situation” somewhere and world and include top military officers from all 27 nations.
“It certainly is a scenario in which we are looking at how the Nato response might be applicable to a situation ... in the new security environment,” the official said, noting that the allies already were forming a new Nato Response Force of up to 20,000 troops for use anywhere on short notice.
The two-day ministerial will take place chiefly at the posh Broadmoor resort at the edge of Colorado Springs, where security will be tight. But the ministers will debate on Wednesday at Schriever, 19kms east of the town.
“I am not going to characterize the scenario,” said the official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity. “This is something that is being done at the classified level. It is also going to be more helpful for all the participants if they are able to approach this fresh” without advance details.
IRAQ DISCUSSIONS: The defence official said the unsettled situation in Iraq would be a major subject for the Colorado gathering. But he declined to discuss whether Defence Secretary Rumsfeld would press fellow ministers to provide money and troops to aid US efforts there.
In a letter to the ministers, Rumsfeld said the debate would “explore the various capabilities and decision-making processes necessary to turn the Nato reaction force into a lethal, agile and technologically superior force.”
The tightly guarded Schriever Air Force Base contains highly classified war-gaming facilities as part of a US military “Joint National Integration Center” for missile defence.—Reuters
