ACCESSION NUMBER:361181
FILE ID:TXT201
DATE:09/20/94
TITLE:PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE IN ACTION (09/20/94)
TEXT:*94092001.TXT
PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE IN ACTION
(VOA Editorial)
(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America September 20,
reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)

This month, soldiers from NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries held joint
military exercises in Poland.  "Clearly today marks the beginning of a new
chapter in the history of NATO and of Europe," said NATO commander General
George Joulwan.  "Five years ago we faced each other across an Iron Curtain
as adversaries.   Today we train together as partners."

They are training under the Partnership for Peace, proposed by President
Bill Clinton and adopted by NATO in January.  Since then, former members of
the Soviet bloc and other European states have been invited to cooperate
politically and militarily with NATO.  So far, 22 nations, including
Russia, have joined the partnership.

This month's exercise, known as Cooperative Bridge '94, was the first on the
territory of a former member of the Warsaw Pact.  NATO troops from Denmark,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States joined with
troops from Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania,
Slovakia and Ukraine at a former Warsaw Pact training base north of Poznan.
  The troops carried out medical evacuations, operated vehicle checkpoints,
learned mine detection, and practiced airdrops of humanitarian supplies.

Cooperative Bridge '94 is the first of three Partnership for Peace exercises
scheduled this year.  Later this month, a maritime exercise will be held in
the North Sea, and in October, the Netherlands will host the second field
exercise.  The United States will participate in all three exercises.

Building on the success of NATO, the Partnership for Peace is a step
insuring the security of all of Europe.  As President Clinton said, "this
partnership opens the door to cooperation with all of NATO's former
adversaries...based on a belief that freedom's boundaries must now be
defined by new behavior, not old history."

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