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German Minister Sees NATO Role in Iraq
In an apparent softening of Germanyâs stance on Iraq, the defense minister said he could see a role for NATO in the country and did not exclude the possibility of German troops participating, according to remarks released Saturday.Schroeder must really want that invitation to the ranch. The remarks, to be published in Sundayâs Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, come after President Bush on Friday praised Germanyâs efforts at the head of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan, thanking Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for providing support that was "more robust than we would have anticipated." Schroeder was among the most vocal opponents of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, a stance that cooled relations between the two countries. In the newspaper remarks, Defense Minister Peter Struck said he could see a possible role for NATO and Germany as peacekeepers. He still emphasized Schroederâs previous assertion that Germany would only consider sending troops to Iraq if there were both a U.N. mandate and a request from the United Nations or the interim Iraqi government. "If U.N. resolutions are present and NATO is asked to take over a larger responsibility," then Germany would not have "a reason to contradict the commitment of the alliance to Iraq," Struck told the newspaper. No real movement yet, but theyâre at least talking about it. Good. He did not exclude the deployment of German troops, adding that if "NATO resolutions are present, it could mean that we are asked" to send peacekeepers and it would then be up to "the government to give an answer." Posted by: Steve White 2003-08-10 |
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