NATO SUMMIT: NATO said yesterday it was building multinational rapid response teams to turn attacks with chemical and biological weapons from potential catastrophes into manageable crises.
"The threat is real and increasing," a senior NATO official said. "It's relatively easy for a country with a rudimentary biotech industry to take that infrastructure and use it for weapons.
"The approach we have adopted is multinational, pooling by the 19 \ nations of technical experts, equipment and training." The threat of attacks with anthrax and botulinum toxins in the 1991 Gulf War prompted the US-led military alliance to focus on biological weapons after years of building defences for chemical agents during the Cold War.
Officials said concern that terrorists could use such weapons has grown since the September 11th attacks on the US last year.
NATO trumpeted its drive as UN weapons inspectors returned to Iraq and on the eve of a summit in Prague whose centrepiece will be an overhaul of the alliance's tool-kit for new security challenges.
Yesterday NATO put on a slick display of its biological and chemical defence initiatives, showing mock news bulletins of troops falling sick in a hostile environment and allies responding. - (Reuters)