Military

NATO

¨         NATO's Secretary-General Robertson appealed on Wednesday for the allies not to allow bickering over Iraq to weaken their unity, warning divisions with the alliance could give comfort to its enemies. "There is a huge premium on alliance unity, especially in these dangerous times," Lord Robertson told reporters after the Iraq crisis overshadowed a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers. "The enemies of the alliance are watching very closely indeed." Despite continued differences with European allies, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld expressed satisfaction with the level of support received after he and CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin briefed NATO defense ministers Tuesday on the threat posed by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein."(AP 251310 Sep 02 GMT)

¨         NATO defense ministers on Wednesday rebuffed Russian concerns over the alliance's plans for enlargement and the problem of Chechen rebels that Moscow says are hiding with impunity in Georgia. "It was a polite and affable meeting, nobody banged the table," a NATO official said after a meeting between Defense Minister Ivanov and alliance defense ministers in Warsaw. "But on both points the Russians were politely rebuffed."  The NATO official said that Moscow wants the three countries to commit themselves to the landmark Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty before joining the alliance, which will probably be in early 2004. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told a news conference after the meeting that he did not see any linkage between NATO enlargement and CFE, and he did not know of any NATO countries that did. "Statements were made by the Russians and statements were made by the others," he said. "The obvious conclusion is that there is no linkage between the two."(Reuters 1640 250902 Sep 02 GMT)

AFGHANISTAN

¨         The first three Norwegian F-16 fighters left their Arctic air base Wednesday to join the U.S.-led Enduring Freedom coalition for operations over Afghanistan. The Norwegian aircraft and about 130 support personnel will be based with jet fighters and support teams from Denmark and the Netherlands in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, near Afghanistan. In all, 18 planes, six from each of the three NATO members, will relieve U.S. and French planes at the Kyrgyzstan base on Oct. 1. Another group of three Norwegian F-16s will follow Thursday from the same Norwegian Royal Air Force Base in Bodoe, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. The three aircraft from each country were due to leave Volkel air base in the Netherlands on Thursday for Turkey, where they will overnight, and continue to Kyrgyzstan. The second group of nine was to depart on the same route on Friday, Danish and Dutch military authorities said.(AP 251418 Sep 02 GMT)

¨         U.S. Under-Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith praised Romania's contribution in the U.S.-led war against terror and the NATO hopeful's effective partnership with Washington, the government said on Wednesday.   Feith, on a six-day tour of Europe and Asia which includes Romania, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Italy, "has highly appreciated Romania's contribution on Afghanistan and also its firm stance on Iraq", a government statement said.    The U.S. official, who met Prime Minister Adrian Nastase in Bucharest, also thanked Romania for signing an agreement not to turn U.S. personnel over to a new international criminal court.(Reuters 1655 250902 Sep 02 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

¨         French troops rescued 200 foreign schoolchildren and staff trapped in a school, while soldiers from the United States and Britain fanned out to ensure the safety of Westerners caught in the country's deadliest uprising. No foreigners have been reported killed. About 100 well-armed French troops moved into the whitewashed compound of the International Christian Academy on the outskirts of Bouake early Wednesday, securing the school after rebel forces breached the walls two days earlier to fire out from its grounds. The Pentagon said the children and staffers from the school would be flown to Ghana on Thursday morning.(AP 260055 Sep 02 GMT)

¨         U.S. intelligence has detected what appears to be an al Qaeda training camp in a remote region of eastern Iran along the border with Afghanistan, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.   The network said it was told by its sources that overhead imagery of the site shows a suspected terrorist camp that includes a driving course and rifle range very much like al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan that were used to train for assassinations, NBC reported.  NBC quoted the sources as saying that Iran's civilian government may not know the camp exists but that Iranian military and intelligence certainly would.   Asked about the report, a U.S. official said "there are some pockets  of al Qaeda in Iran near the border" but would not comment further. A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment, referring calls to the intelligence community.(Reuters 0104 260902 Sep 02 GMT)