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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (21450)	2/12/2003 12:47:17 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27764

France Torpedoes Iraq Compromise Plan at NATO 47 minutes ago URL:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&ncid=721&e=5&u=/nm/20030212/wl_nm/iraq_nato_dc By John Chalmers BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France shot down a compromise Wednesday aimed at breaking NATO (news - web sites)'s deadlock over planning protection for Turkey in case of a U.S.-led war on Iraq, dashing hopes for an early end to the alliance's damaging crisis. Reuters Photo Bush: Nixing Turkey Protection Hurts NATO (AP Video) NATO's Robertson: Situation Will Be Resolved (AP Video) Diplomats said France, Germany and Belgium, which vetoed broader proposals Monday, were unlikely to budge at least until after chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to the Security Council Friday. In a bid to calm one of the most serious storms in NATO's 54-year history, Robertson presented a slimmed-down "decision sheet," stripped of plans to protect U.S. forces in Europe or replace Balkan peacekeepers sent to fight in Iraq. "The general view now is that we have a sound basis to continue consultations further," NATO spokesman Yves Brodeur told a briefing after a night of intense telephone diplomacy. A NATO official said there would be another session of the 19-nation North Atlantic Council -- the fifth in three days of wrangling -- at 8 p.m. But a French Foreign Ministry spokesman, asked about the Robertson proposal, said Paris's position had not changed. "In this regard, we cannot, through a NATO decision, give our support in principle to a military intervention in Iraq and thus pre-empt the decisions of the Security Council," he said. THREE HANG TOUGH In the first NATO council of the day, France, Germany and Belgium explained again why they had vetoed proposals to start planning to deploy Patriot air defense missiles, early warning planes and anti-chemical and germ warfare units to Turkey. "The three repeated their position, they are undivided," said one. "They have committed themselves to studying the new text but they are basically repeating their stand." The European trio argue that starting defense planning now would lock NATO into a "logic of war," implicitly accepting that an armed conflict against Iraq is inevitable. Officials said Robertson canceled a trip to Spain scheduled for Thursday to handle the crisis at alliance headquarters in Brussels. In an ironic twist, he had been due to deliver a speech in Madrid on "NATO and the challenges of the future." The United States appeared to concede that there was no end in sight to a face-off which has fueled tension with countries whose arguments against war prompted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last month to brand them "old Europe." "It may take some time for us to get to the end of the discussion, that wouldn't be surprising," U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns told reporters. NATO officials said dissenters would probably spin out negotiations until after Blix reports to the Security Council, hoping that signs of improved Iraqi cooperation could vindicate their anti-war stance. "People are starting to realize that there will be no solution before Friday and that perhaps it is not good for NATO to continue like this," said a diplomat for one of the trio. Turkey, which shares a frontier with Iraq and is a likely launch pad for any U.S. attack, is anxious for NATO to start planning without delay. Latest news: • Lawmakers Say Allies Jeopardizing NATO AP - 2 hours, 18 minutes ago • Experts to Destroy Banned Iraqi Weapons AP - Wed Feb 12, 7:49 AM ET • France Proposes More Iraq Arms Monitors AP - Wed Feb 12, 5:15 AM ET Special Coverage When France, Germany and Belgium formally objected to the plan Monday, Ankara invoked Article IV of NATO's founding treaty under which allies seek consultations if they fear they are under threat. The United States accuses the three countries of importing political arguments made at the U.N. Security Council against military action into NATO, an organization which has a duty to make contingency plans for the defense of one of its members. EUROPE DIVIDED TOO The Iraq crisis has split the European Union (news - web sites) too, pitting pro-American countries led by Britain, Spain and Italy against critics of a perceived rush to war, led by France and Germany. European Commission (news - web sites) President Romano Prodi lamented the divisions in a speech to the European Parliament Wednesday, saying a disunited Europe would forfeit any global influence. "Without a common approach, all the member states will disappear from the world stage," he said. "Without a single European voice, it will be impossible to have a strong, permanent and dignified collaboration with the United States. And without collaboration between Europe and the United States, it will be impossible to guarantee world peace and stability." Senior French strategic analyst Francois Heisbourg told Reuters the underlying trans-Atlantic crisis might be even more serious than it appeared. "These are very high stakes and I don't believe it will be easy for Belgium, Germany and France to climb down before the Security Council at the end of the week because it could have an impact on their position there," Heisbourg, director of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research, said. "The Americans are deliberately splitting Europe into old and new, and ... Germany and France have not been shy either by not giving high priority to alliance solidarity."