Too late for that, pretty boy.
NATO is headquartered in Brussels, BELGIUM
02/10/2003
BRUSSELS, Belgium - France, Germany and Belgium blocked NATO efforts to begin planning for possible Iraqi attacks against Turkey, deepening the rift between those countries and the United States over the Iraq crisis.
The alliance would have automatically begun planning for the defense of Turkey, which fears retaliation from neighboring Iraq in case of an invasion, at 4 a.m. EST if no country protested the move.
France - piqued by what it saw as U.S. attempts to railroad them into a decision - beat the deadline by an hour with its veto, and Belgium backed the move. Germany, which has staunchly opposed military action against Iraq, expressed its support as well. They argued that supporting NATO's efforts would force the crisis into a "logic of war."
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By requesting the consultations, Turkey is now expected to ask for the planning to begin. Diplomats say they expect France, Germany and Belgium to drop their protests with the request.
"What is important is that we arrive at a consensus and I'm confident we will," said NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson.
Turkey is the only NATO member to border Iraq and is a likely launch pad for U.S. strikes on its southern neighbor. There are concerns Iraq could launch missiles against if war breaks out.
While the planning is a procedural move that would only take a few days, it revealed the deep fissures within NATO over dealing with Iraq. France believes U.N. inspectors should be given more time to search Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, while the United States says Saddam Hussein has run out of time.
The United States had lobbied hard for more than three weeks for the alliance to start the military planning, which was backed by all 19 NATO allies except for France, Belgium and Germany. All NATO decisions require unanimous support from the allies.
Even if France relents, the 19 NATO members will have to agree again to approve the actual deployment of defense forces, which would include AWACS early warning planes, Patriot anti-missile batteries and units specialized in handling germ warfare or poison gas attacks.
At a stormy weekend meeting in Munich, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned continued delays in responding to Turkey's request were "inexcusable" and risked undermining the alliance's credibility.
Rumsfeld intensified his criticism in an interview Sunday with Italy's La Republica newspaper. "Shameful, for me it's truly shameful," Rumsfeld was quoted as saying. "Turkey is an ally. An ally that is risking everything ... How can you refuse it help?"
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that if the next U.N. inspectors' report, which is due Friday, shows Iraq is still not cooperating with inspections, the White House will seek a U.N. resolution authorizing a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
In France, officials said it was too early to start military preparations while diplomatic efforts continued to avoid war. However, they stressed they would help the Turks if they judged it necessary.
"If Turkey was really under threat, France would be one of the first at its side," French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters in Munich. "Today we don't feel that threat is there."
In Iraq, the chief U.N. weapons inspectors ended two days of talks saying they had noticed a "positive attitude" in Baghdad toward their efforts of ensuring Iraq is free of banned arms.
The Iraqis gave the chief inspectors more documents to try to clarify lingering questions about 1980s chemical and biological weapons, and said they would establish commissions to search for additional documents and any leftover weapons.
On Sunday, Germany said it would join with France in presenting to the Security Council an initiative to disarm Iraq without war, a proposal bluntly dismissed by U.S. officials. The proposal reportedly includes the deployment of U.N. soldiers and would require Iraqi cooperation.
Early Monday, the French and Belgian foreign ministers spoke and said they still opposed the automatic start of military planning. They believe the planning would convey the message that NATO believes no peaceful solution to the Iraq standoff can be found.
"They had their talks and they will continue to block," said Belgian government spokesman Didier Seeuws of the talks between his foreign minister Louis Michel and his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin.
The planning would lay the groundwork to send surveillance planes, anti-missile batteries and units specialized in dealing with germ warfare and poison gas attacks to Turkey.
Diplomats said they expected France and the other holdouts to drop their objections to the military planning with the Turkey request.
"I trust the alliance will stick together and we will help Turkey," Norwegian Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold said Sunday. "I have a strong belief in common sense."
As well as trans-Atlantic differences, the deadlock has highlighted deep divisions among European allies. The majority, led by Britain, Spain and Italy, backs the tough U.S. stance against Iraq, while France and Germany have been fierce opponents.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin was headed to Paris on Monday to discuss Iraq with President Jacques Chirac, another leading opponent of war against Hussein. They were expected to urge that the crisis be resolved peacefully.
