London - NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has warned that failure of the alliance's mission in Afghanistan could result in terror attacks on western countries. Speaking in a BBC interview during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania, de Hoop Scheffer said that if terrorism was not dealt with in Afghanistan, the consequences would be felt not just in the region, but also "in London, Brussels, and Amsterdam."
"This is the front-line in the fight against terrorism, and what is happening in the Hindu Kush matters, because if terrorism is not dealt with in Afghanistan, the consequences will be felt not just in Afghanistan and the region, but also in London, Brussels and Amsterdam," he said.
NATO's mission in Afghanistan was one of necessity, not choice, and the reconstruction of the war-torn country would take many years, said de Hoop Scheffer.
