arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

NATO defense ministers, whose informal meeting in
Naples, Italy this week was cancelled after the
September 11 terror attacks in the United States, will
convene instead in Brussels on Wednesday, a NATO
source said Monday.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will not take
part in the meeting, and will be replaced by his
deputy Paul Wolfowitz, the source added.

The defense ministers will be discussing the aftermath
of the attacks in the United States, among other
issues, senior officials at NATO headquarters in
Brussels have said.

But as it is an informal meeting, no binding decisions
are expected.

On Friday, NATO cancelled its initial plans to hold
the long-scheduled meeting in Naples, home of its
Mediterranean military command, on Wednesday and
Thursday, following a request by Italian Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi.