WAR: NATO Ready to Support Mideast Peace, page 1

A top official for NATO says that the alliance should be ready to help with supporting any peace agreement in the Middle East if it is asked by both sides. The Secretary General of NATO is scheduled to meet with Israeli leaders later in the week. Several experts feel it is too early in the process to send NATO peacekeepers in, and there may be opposition from within the alliance to such a move.

story.news.yahoo.com
MUNICH, Germany - NATO should be ready to play a major role in supporting any peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, if the two sides ask for its help, the alliance's top diplomat said Saturday.

Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told an international security conference he planned to go to Israel next week, the first such visit by a NATO secretary general.

"We should not shy away from starting to think about a potential role for NATO in supporting a Middle East peace agreement," de Hoop Scheffer said. "If the ball comes to NATO, this alliance must be prepared to respond positively and play its full part."

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I would much rather see NATO in the region than the U.N. While It may have had some success, I am skeptical of the U.N. to accomplish anything beyond lining the pockets of its high officials. The recent spat of disasters that have occurred as of late on the U.N.'s watch are horrendous. However, peacekeeping may be the direction that NATO needs to keep viable in the long run.