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NATO spokesman Yves Brodeur
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The United States today asked NATO for collective aid in preparing a riposte to terrorist attacks and NATO immediately activated Article 5 providing for such aid, a NATO spokesman said.
Spokesman Yves Brodeur said the US gave NATO a list of "collective assistance" measures it was asking of its 18 allies in the framework of an eventual military response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty says an external attack on any ally may be treated as an attack on all, providing the aggrieved ally asks for specific aid, which is the basic requirement for activating the clause.
AFP