U.S. President Barack Obama, who is in France to attend a NATO summit, cautioned that Europe was more vulnerable to attack from al Qaeda than the United States.
Defending the American war in Afghanistan, for which he recently ordered the deployment of 21,000 additional troops, Obama said the move could prevent a terrorist attack in Europe.
Addressing a news conference after holding talks Friday with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, Obama said: "It is probably more likely that al Qaeda would be able to launch a serious terrorist attack in Europe than on the United States because of proximity."
At the two-day summit marking the 60th anniversary of the alliance, Obama is expected to call on allies to do more to turn the tide in the Afghan war.
In an expression of united stand by the international community against North Korea's proposed missile-launch, he said: "We will work with all interested partners in the international community to take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it cannot threaten the safety and stability of other countries with impunity."
He did not elaborate on the steps Washington and other governments would take in response to Pyongyang's missile- launch, apparently scheduled any day now.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.