After the attacks in New York and Washington the U.S.-dominated NATO alliance invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first time in its 52-year history, which states if one member country is attacked, all the other nations will join in its defense. Article 5 opens the door for European imperialist governments to provide access to air space and runways, troops, equipment, and other backing for U.S. military assaults against Afghanistan or any other country in the Middle East or Near East.

The article, titled "EU doubts grow over 'switch' in Nato role," shows some of the conflict between Washington and its imperialist rivals in Europe. Quoting an unnamed NATO official, the Times reports that "what happened last week was that the U.S. got a new role for Nato. It turned Nato into a counter-terrorism organization." According to the paper, Jacques Chirac of France, Joschka Fischer, German foreign minister, and other European Union officials planned to raise the issue with the Bush administration during their visits to the United States.

The U.S. government failed to win inclusion of terrorism, sabotage, and organized crime in Article 5 at a NATO summit meeting in 1999. Washington's rivals in Europe rejected the proposal at the time, but "last Wednesday changed all that," the NATO official said. "We are in a completely new ball game now," a European Union diplomat told the Times. "Whether or not the U.S. invokes Article 5, it hardly matters. Last week we gave the U.S. what it wanted: a counter-terrorism role for NATO."  
 
 
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