BRUSSELS (voa) – U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is warning NATO countries to brace for possible terrorist attacks on their major cities like those in September in the United States.
He told alliance defense ministers meeting in Brussels to be ready for all sorts of attacks involving computer networks, cruise missiles, satellite weapons or even nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
Mr. Rumsfeld said Afghanistan is not the only country to harbored terrorists, and he said NATO will have to give up its reluctance to operate outside Europe to deal with the threat.
He said the alternative – sitting back until attacked – is a strategy that is both foolhardy and dangerous.
Mr. Rumsfeld later told reporters of the importance of working for a relationship with Russia based on mutual cooperation instead of one founded on the principle of mutual assured destruction.
In subsequent talks with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, the NATO ministers reaffirmed their determination to deepen cooperation with Russia particularly as they seek to deal with terrorism and pursue disarmament.
The NATO ministers wrap-up their two day meeting Wednesday by talking with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk.
Secretary Rumsfeld also called for reducing the 1,800 strong NATO force in Bosnia-Herzegovina by one-third before the end of 2002 and replacing them with police. There are now about 60,000 NATO peacekeepers in the region.
