Brussels, Nov 19: For months, Nato Secretary-General George Robertson has been speaking confidently of the ''Summit of Transformation''.
As leaders of the 19-nation western alliance prepare to meet in Prague on November 21-22, Robertson insists the encounter represents '' a major turning point in Nato's ability to deliver the security that we all need.''
''With new membership, new missions and new military capabilities, Nato's transformation will make a quantum leap forward,'' Robertson said.
The 50-year old alliance must become capable of dealing ''with the new threats and challenges of the 21st century,''he added.

The Olympic motto of ''faster, higher, further'' looks to be motivating the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).



Establishment of a Nato rapid reaction force is to be formally adopted with the aim of deployment at shortest notice, whereever and whenever needed.



The geographical limits applied to Nato missions as outlined in the founding charter have long disappeared after being quietly dropped.



The alliance itself, founded in 1949 by 12 countries, now has 19 members plus another seven aspiring to membership in 2004.



Formal invitations to membership are expected to be issued during talks in Prague. The aspirant candidates would expand Nato's sphere of influence far into the territory of the former Soviet Union.



Originally, Nato members wanted to defend themselves against the common foe of the Soviet Union, setting up a defence bloc for war at the heart of Europe - especially in Germany.



The European allies established forces able to fight in their own or neighbouring countries, while the United States improved its capacities to deploy troops over long distances and to do battle over longer periods of time, far from home.



This Nato strategy became obsolete once the Soviet-dominated Warsaw pact fell apart.


Bureau Report