Seven former communist states were welcomed as NATO's newest members in Washington Monday and were hailed for their contributions in efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The new members, all Eastern European countries that were once satellites of the former Soviet Union, make the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stronger and bring it "moral clarity" in facing the new century's challenge of terrorism, President George W. Bush said in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
As witness to some of the great crimes of the last century, our new members bring moral clarity to the purposes of our alliance," he said. "They understand our cause in Afghanistan and in Iraq because tyranny for them is still a fresh memory.
"These nations know that when great democracies fail to confront danger, far worse peril can follow."
Admitted to full membership to the military alliance were Bulgaria, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Membership in NATO has given rise to concern in Russia, which is leery of the alliance's eastward expansion since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Poland is already a member of NATO, as are Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Inclusion of the new members, which had to institute reforms such as civilian control of their militaries and establishment of democracy and also had to prove they could financially and materially contribute to the military bloc, brings NATO's total membership to 26. A total of 12 countries formed the organization in 1949 as a counter to Soviet military threats.
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n the immediate aftermath of the al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington, NATO pitched in by helping fly surveillance aircraft over the United States to deter further aircraft hijackings.
Leaders of the seven countries had met with Bush earlier in the day and handed over their papers of ascension. The prime ministers then joined Bush in the ceremony, where people in the audience cheered loudly as the names of their home countries or the nations of their ancestors were called.
Also in attendance were the prime ministers of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, who are also seeking NATO membership, which is seen as a path to greater integration with Western Europe.
"The core mission remains the same: the defense of members against any aggression," Bush said. "Today our alliance faces a new enemy, which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid.
"They fear our unity. They seek to divide us. They will fail. We will not be divided. We will never bow to the violence of the few."
NATO is in charge of peacekeeping in Kabul, the Afghan capital, and each of the ascending countries is contributing resources in Afghanistan or Iraq. Bush said the seven were "friends before they were allies, and they were allies in action before becoming allies by treaty."
NATO as an alliance did not join in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year. Members Germany, France and Belgium effectively blocked such action. A number of states, however, individually supported the effort, either politically or through more tangible means, such as allowing refueling of U.S. aircraft on their territory.
Britain not only diplomatically supported the war, it sent thousands of troops to aid in the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
NATO as a bloc is not involved in Iraq stabilization efforts. On Monday, it's new secretary general said in Washington he believed continued troop presence in Iraq by individual NATO members after July 1 may depend on the United States obtaining a U.N. resolution for peacekeeping efforts.
Spain, a member of NATO and one of 34 nations in the U.S.-led Iraq coalition, may pull out after July 1 without such a cover. Its new socialist leader was firmly opposed to the war and has said a troop withdrawal is on the table.
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The Netherlands' prime minister said last month whether Dutch troops in Iraq will remain after July 1 was still to be decided.
And Russia should relax and work on those reforms so that perhaps one day it could qualify for membership.
This would be the ultimate irony, given that NATO was formed to counter the military might of the Soviet Union, but then perhaps a 21st Century NATO may be needed to counter potential rogue state Weasel powers!
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