AS we row about PfP, some apparently believe we are already a fully-fledged member of the NATO-sponsored body. Details of an embarrassing mistake during the NATO 50th anniversary summit in Washington earlier this year have emerged. Commemorative silk ties with the flags of all 19 NATO members were presented to heads of state, generals and diplomats. The magazine which thought up the idea, NATO's Nations and Partners for Peace, began receiving irate phone calls pointing out that the tie omitted the flag of Italy but included that of Ireland, which is not a member. Italy's ambassador to the US, Ferdinando Salleo, pointed out that the Italian flag is green, white and red and not green, white and orange.
The manufacturer was blamed and a new batch of ties was rushed out. Now the original tie with the Irish Tricolour has become "a hot item in NATO circles", according to Capital Style magazine. Sadly, journalists covering the summit had to make do with a hand-out of cotton T-shirts without flags.