27 Oct 2003

NATO's credibility depends on usability of forces News 21/05/2003 - NATO NATO Council makes decision on Polish request During a farewell visit to Poland on 27 October, Lord Robertson repeated his call for NATO member countries to continue to improve the usability of their armed forces. The harsh truth is that if our Governments are to continue to take on political commitments to do more militarily, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or Africa, or conceivably the Middle East, then they must improve the usability of their armed forces, he said. Lord Robertson was speaking at the Warsaw Diplomatic Academy at the end of a one-day farewell visit to the Polish capital, which included meetings with President Kwasniewski, Prime Minister Miller, as well as the Foreign and Defence ministers. In the meetings the Secretary General discussed the Alliance's ongoing transformation to meet today's new security challenges and NATO's support to the Polish-led command of a sector in Iraq. In his lecture at the Diplomatic Academy he addressed the future challenges for NATO and paid tribute to Polish troops deployed on peacekeeping missions across the globe. Today, Polish troops are engaged in keeping the peace in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in many other places around the globe , he said, In taking such an active stance, Poland -- the victim of many of the ill-winds of the 20th century -- has applied the lessons of its own recent history: freedom and security cannot simply be taken for granted. These privileges must be fought for and won.