|
France: NATO force in Iraq might be okay after all
Edited for brevity.France could envisage a NATO force in Iraq if approved by a sovereign Iraqi government and the United Nations, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday. France led opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and until now Villepin has said it was premature to discuss any NATO presence, which alliance members are likely to discuss at a summit in Istanbul at the end of June. "First, NATO can only be involved at the behest of an Iraqi government and with the prior agreement of the United Nations," Villepin told Le Figaro newspaper in an interview. "Great care is needed over what some countries in the region could regard as an act of aggression. Nothing would be worse than triggering a feeling of confrontation between the Arab world and our countries, between the West and Islam," he said. After all, saving lives isnât worth hurting anyoneâs feelings. Villepin did not say whether France would offer troops for any future NATO mission, reiterating only that Paris was ready to offer police training after power is handed back to Iraqis around a scheduled date of June 30. "There is a question of principle," Villepin said. "Would the arrival in the Middle East of NATO itself be a stabilizing or complicating factor?" After initially sharing Franceâs reticence, Germany, which also opposed the Iraq conflict, has said it would not stand in the way of a NATO mission. Posted by: Dar 2004-02-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=26549 |