Egypt has signed a treaty with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), becoming the second Middle Eastern nation following Israel to sign such a pact. According to a senior NATO official, other Middle Eastern countries are expected to follow suit. The treaty was signed at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Details on the agreement have not yet been released, but it is expected that Egypt could agree to a NATO force being stationed along the Gaza border.

Quote: "According to NATO sources, the treaty entitles Egypt the right to cooperate with the organization on issues of border control, the war on terror, the exchange of intelligence, and the stabilizing of sensitive areas. Sources pointed out that no individual agreement had been reached regarding the breached Egypt-Gaza border, but added that NATO may aid in closing the border down the road.

NATO is a transatlantic defence organization, which was set up to protect Western countries from the threat of a Soviet nuclear strike during the height of the Cold War. All NATO members consider an attack on any one member to be an attack on them all, thus providing a deterrent to the outbreak of war. As the Cold War ended following the fall of the Soviet Union, the need for NATO also diminished. It was Javier Solana, the Secretary General of NATO from 1995 to 1999, who was able to turn the organization around by changing its mode of operation, from purely that of a defence organization to one that could intervene in trouble spots anywhere in the world. Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon recently published his plans for the division of Jerusalem, which include the stationing of a NATO-like force in the region to help keep the peace. With no solution readily apparent to the situation in the Gaza Strip, and with the threat of war arising from the situation in Iran and Syria, it seems Egypt and other Middle Eastern states may be taking precautions in the event that things get out of hand. As we can see with today's news, Middle Eastern states including Israel are increasingly turning to outside help in matters of national security. We have an international peace conference in November, open talk of the division of Jerusalem, the possibility of a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in the not too distant future, and European nations becoming more involved in the security of the region. All we need now is a man to bring it all together.

Daniel 11:31
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Source YNet News