The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee called for Israel’s inclusion in NATO.
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) made his remarks in a June 22 hearing, calling on NATO to consider expanding its borders beyond Europe and North Africa.
“Why not allow firmly democratic nations, such as South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Israel, to join the world’s greatest military alliance?” Lantos asked. Lantos also said NATO must be revitalized to confront 21st century terrorism and that Europe needs to be a full partner in the battle against the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. “We need German and French and other European troops, whose grandparents we freed from Nazi tyranny in World War II, to fight on the front lines, too, said Lantos, a Holocaust survivor.
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