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