New boys join NATO

The American Senate has voted to enlarge NATO, the second admission of new members in four years, and the two-thirds majority opening their way was easily attained, with a unanimous vote. The Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Slovenia were present to witness the historic event. They will also have lunch with Secretary of State Colin Powell followed by a Rose Garden ceremony with President Bush. The new members bring NATO to 26 nations allied militarily, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and adds some 200,000 troops to the total manpower available. The vote came a day after Wednesday's house debate on NATO, during which some robust comments were made about France by Senator John McCain, and two major reforms were put forward to the White House for consideration by the President. One proposed ending the need for concensus votes within the alliance and moving to majority votes for NATO initiatives, the other would install a process to suspend members if they broke fundamental NATO principles.