By Nicola Smith - 4th December 2003
NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday left the door open for the Alliance to increase its role in Iraq.
But outgoing NATO chief George Robertson stressed that no specific proposal had yet been tabled for the Alliance’s role to expand beyond its current support to Polish troops.
The decision was not yet possible due to NATO’s existing commitments to stabilise Afghanistan, he explained.
“But nobody has excluded NATO doing more if the time and the circumstances are right. This might involve a different UN environment or a different view of what is happening on the ground,” Robertson said.
“In the new year nations may put forward proposals,” he added.
The issue of NATO involvement in Iraq has been given a strong push by the US administration over recent months.
One idea floated by US Secretary of State Colin Powell would be for NATO to assume the role of the Polish division currently operating in Iraq.
In his opening speech to his NATO counterparts, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell said,” We urge the Alliance to examine how it might do more to support peace and stability in Iraq, which every leader has acknowledged is critical to us.”
He later told reporters that “it was striking today that as we discussed the possibility not a single member spoke against it or talked about reasons not to do it.”
However, despite the display of unity over the question of NATO’s role in Iraq, a senior German source was reported to have expressed strong opposition to the idea.
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