Blair stresses need for Nato reform

Nato must reform itself to combat the terrorist threat following September 11, Prime Minister Tony Blair warned fellow alliance leaders today.

Mr Blair issued his call in a joint letter with Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar ahead of a meeting of Nato defence ministers on Thursday.

The Brussels gathering will begin the process of developing a new ‘‘military concept’’ for Nato.

An alliance forged to guard Europe during the Cold War, it has been sidelined in the conflict in Afghanistan.

Mr Blair hopes changes can be agreed at a summit to be held in Prague in November.

And he underlined the importance of task in the letter to Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson.

‘‘The attacks of September 11 demonstrated the new threats posed to our societies by terrorism and weapons of mass destruction,’’ it said.

‘‘These and other possible threats pose now for all of us the challenge of adapting our institutions in response, preserving their values while keeping them effective in a radically different world.

‘‘The Prague summit - now less than six months away - presents us as Allied leaders with a unique opportunity to transform Nato to make it as firm a guarantee of our security in the opening decade of the 21st century as it was through the second half of the 20th.

‘‘The British and Spanish governments have a shared version of Nato revitalised at Prague to face threats, with new roles, new capabilities, new members and new relationships with Russia and with other partners to our east and south.’’

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to propose a review of Nato’s command structure.

At present Nato has a Supreme Allied Commander based in North America as well as a Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

The alliance is also expected to draw up a shopping list of military kit to defend against weapons of mass destruction.

Small, highly mobile units are expected to be proposed to undertake risky missions.

However, the main concern for the defence ministers is expected to be the large gap in military spending between the US and its European allies.