US Def. Sec.: NATO members will learn from Afghanistan experiences

BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Friday said the members of the 30-member Alliance would learn from the experiences in Afghanistan.
"We also discussed NATO's role after the end of our mission in Afghanistan. After 9/11 NATO invoked article 5 and entered Afghanistan as a united Alliance. And 20 years later NATO left Afghanistan as a united Alliance," he told a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels after a 2-day meeting of NATO Defense Ministers.
"And as we move forward we are determined to apply some lessons to NATO's current and future operations to ensure that we can most effectively use our collective strengths," he said.
He stressed that NATO remains the central forum for consultation, decision-making, and action on trans-Atlantic security and defense issues.
"Our meetings this week only reinforces that NATO's strength doesn't come just from its military might; it comes from its unity and its sense of common purpose," said Austin.
"We're committed to working with our allies to ensure that NATO is ready to face the future," he said.
"Our countries face an increasingly complex security environment. And, so, this alliance is opening a new chapter in the transatlantic relationship," he added. (end) nk.gta