NATO Settles Dispute Over Training Iraqi Forces Sat Jun 26, 2004 09:05 AM ETBy John Chalmers
…U.S. Senator Richard Lugar warned NATO at a conference in Istanbul that its reputation would stand or fall on its commitment to act in Iraq, which he described as "the central theater in the war on terrorism."
"If the new, sovereign Iraqi government were to ask NATO to come in, the alliance could refuse only at its own peril," the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.
"Will it step up to its role as the defense arm of the Transatlantic community or step off the world stage and risk becoming irrelevant?"
Isn't this exactly what Bush said to the U.N., pre-invasion? The same U.N. he's needs to pull his fat from the fire now?
And when you read the American press spinning this all as a victory for Bush, understand what the dispute was:
President Bush is eager to share the burden in Iraq and is under pressure in an election year to obtain more international support for Baghdad, whose interim government is due to be sworn in when the U.S.-led occupation ends on June 30.But he has lowered his ambitions for NATO support, partly because many European allies are militarily overstretched but mainly because France, Germany and other opponents of last year's invasion oppose an overt alliance role.
Diplomats said troop training in the violence-plagued country was the "lowest common denominator" that Washington and its closest allies could hope for.
Nevertheless, talks on even this role became bogged down on Friday as the United States and Britain pushed for a detailed and enthusiastic response to Allawi, while France and Germany favored a vaguely worded -- but still positive -- reply.
There were differences over whether NATO should train Iraqi officers inside the country under a NATO flag, or limit its role to training outside Iraq and acting as a clearing house for national efforts. There were also disputes over whether to open the door to a more far-reaching NATO military involvement later.
…as well as how it was resolved.
Diplomats said the agreed statement was vaguely worded and most details of NATO's training task would be negotiated later.
Posted by P6 at June 26, 2004 01:42 PM
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