Nato expected to approve Katrina plans
Nato nations were today expected to approve plans drawn up by the military to use alliance ships and aircraft to rush European aid to US regions hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Military experts from the 26 allies prepared the plans, after the US yesterday requested extra assistance from the alliance.
Officials at Nato headquarters in Brussels said the deployment would likely include at least two heavy transport ships currently assigned to the alliance’s elite Nato Response Force, plus aircraft converted to carry cargo.
They said the planes could be ready within days to fly aid from European nations that do not have their own airlift capacity.
However, it will take longer to load the roll-on-roll-off ships with goods brought from around Europe, the officials said.
Deployment of its ships to the US Gulf Coast would mark the first time the new Nato Response Force has been used for a humanitarian mission.
European nations have made substantial offers of food, medicine, bedding and other help to the stricken region.
The US first asked Nato for help over the weekend, and the alliance activated its Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Co-ordination Centre to help oversee the offers, including those from non-Nato nations, such as Russia and Switzerland.
Yesterday, US Ambassador Victoria Nuland requested more transportation and logistical help at a special meeting of the alliance’s North Atlantic Council, which immediately ordered military commanders to draw up plans.
For nations that do not have large transportation aircraft, one option under consideration was the use of converted Boeing 707 aircraft, which are normally used to train crews for the alliance’s fleet of AWACS surveillance plane based in Germany.
Among other international developments, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief said he expected the world body to become more involved in the relief effort.
“We have health kits and school-in-a-box kits that are tailored for immediate use for people that are displace by emergencies, and when such requests come we will answer immediately,” said Jan Egeland, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
Thailand’s top forensic expert, who led efforts to identify the dead from December’s tsunami disaster, plans to travel to the US on Sunday to help with the same task in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Thai government said.
European Union finance ministers were debating the economic impact of soaring oil prices following the hurricane and the US dollar fell against the euro as traders watched the effects of Katrina play out.
