NATO sends bridge equipment to Aceh

NATO sends bridge equipment to Aceh

BELGIUM: NATO said on Tuesday it will provide 565 meters of
bridge equipment for the reconstruction effort in Aceh,
Indonesia, that was badly hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

"This equipment, valued at more than US$7.8 million, is being
readied for transportation and assembly in the disaster area as
soon as possible," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
said in a statement.

His announcement came a month after a U.S. lawmaker urged the
NATO allies to invest in more mobile forces so European
militaries can match the speed of American troops in responding
to threats and disasters, such as the Asian tsunami.

European diplomats acknowledge their militaries lack the
capacity to respond as quickly and effectively as the United
States, which dispatched 17 ships with 13,000 marines and other
personnel to the disaster zone. --AP