Norway Hails NATO Plan to Defend North
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Friday that it has established a multinational force to defend its northern flank, a decision hailed by Norway as a strengthening of the alliance’s commitment to the country.
A statement from NATO headquarters in Brussels said the United States, Canada and West Germany offered to participate in the replacement for a Canadian brigade that Ottawa has said it wants to withdraw.
The decision marks the first time Oslo has agreed to allow German combat troops into Norway since World War II.
Norway does not permit the basing of allied combat troops on its soil in peacetime and would rely almost totally on reinforcements from abroad in a time of crisis.
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