NATO Will Head Forces to Maintain Security in Afghanistan

The written statement of US State Secretary Colin Powell disseminated by the press service of the state secretary stated that he welcomed NATO's decision to head the forces to maintain security in Afghanistan.

Powell stressed that "it would be the first significant military operation of NATO outside Europe for the whole history of the Alliance," According to him, NATO's decision to head the forces to maintain security in Afghanistan also demonstrated that the North Atlantic Alliance in its activity was making a "new accent on the struggle against the threat of terrorism and mass destruction weapons irrespective of where it emanates from." Powell indicated that he was confident that NATO would carry out that operation as professionally as it professionally fulfilled its peacekeeping mandate in Bosnia and Kosovo.