4. Belgium: New NATO Mission Statement Expected

Belgium: New NATO Mission Statement Expected October 14, 2010 NATO’s new mission statement is expected to be adopted at a November summit in Portugal and will focus on reforming the organization to deal with emerging threats, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Oct. 14, AP reported. The core task of defending NATO’s 900 million people will never change, but it must involve modern defenses against modern threats, Rasmussen said. NATO proposals include expanding the existing battlefield missile defense system to cover all alliance members against ballistic missiles from nations such as Iran and North Korea, and having Russia join the project to create a “Vancouver to Vladivostok network,” he stated.