UAE | Government
Nato to defend Gulf states in case of attack
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) will defend Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member countries if they are attacked, a Nato parliamentarian said on Thursday.
- By Samir Salama, Associate Editor
- Published: 00:27 October 10, 2008
- Nato will not remain indifferent if there were to be an aggression or attack on a Gulf country, says Jean-Michel Boucheron, outgoing Chairman of the Nato Parliamentary Association (PA), Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) will defend Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member countries if they are attacked, a Nato parliamentarian said on Thursday.
"Nato will not remain indifferent if there were to be an aggression or attack on a Gulf country. For example, when Kuwait was attacked in 1990, we were unanimous in condemning this and taking part in the first war. However, we opposed to the second Iraq war and it shows it was not the same situation. Kuwait was attacked and therefore we were in agreement with the war," Jean-Michel Boucheron, outgoing Chairman of the Nato Parliamentary Association (PA), Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group, told Gulf News.
Boucheron added there is also a possibility of having a French base in the UAE and it shows how indivisible security is for Nato, the West and the GCC countries. And of course, an attack against a GCC country would be very badly viewed as it would work against the security interests of all.
Vahit Erdem, chairman elect of the group, asserted that Nato is not the United Nations. It is an organisation defending its members. "In the sad event of any attack against a GCC country, it is the responsibility of the UN. And if the UN takes a decision, of course Nato or the international security forces will respond to that."
He was speaking on the sidelines of a Nato seminar on the Middle East and Global Challenges, concluded on Thursday.
Dialogue
Boucheron earlier told reporters: "Our role as a Parliamentary Assembly is different from that of Nato. We want to remove the borders of dialogue. As parliamentarians we believe in the dialogue and discussions rather than the clash of civilisation."
However, he ruled out any "in-depth specific initiative before the result of the US Presidential elections and therefore until February or March next year we are going to be in a sort of limbo interim period."
On whether Nato is winning or losing the war in Afghanistan, Boucheron said the question is not about winning or losing the war, but rather about winning or losing public opinion.
"So when US bombs fall on Afghan villages, we lose out on public opinion and the soldiers of the coalition in Afghanistan must be in contact with the local population. They have to make the valley secure so that roads can be built and they have to protect the villages so that schools can be built for children. And when our soldiers do that, then we gain public sympathy."
Jose Lello, President of the Nato Parliamentary Assembly, told the first such seminar held in Abu Dhabi, "Although officially autonomous from Nato, our organisation has over the last 50 years developed a strong working relationship. Although not part of the constitutional decision-making process of Nato, Assembly views and policy output have been increasingly influential on the more political side of that process."
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