Posted on 06/12/2003 10:06:12 AM PDT by knighthawk
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Spain agreed to take a leading role in a multi-national stabilization force being deployed in the next few months, in the sector designated to be led by Poland.
US officials immediately welcomed the announcement by Madrid, a key ally during the Iraq war but which has so far not signed up to the Iraq force, which will be run under sectors led by the US, Britain and Poland.
"The decision .. shows the confidence that all parties have in Poland, and I would especially include the United States in that," a senior official travelling with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told AFP on Thursday.
Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, said "Spain is going to co-lead a division" of the multi-national force in the Polish sector south of Baghdad.
The sector will notably comprise the towns of Nasiriyah, Karbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad.
Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said Spain will take deputy command of its division of some 8,000 troops, expected to be deployed in July and August and aiming to reach operational capacity by September.
The division will comprise three brigades: a Polish one with 2,300 troops, a Ukrainian one with 1,700 troops and a Spanish brigade with 1,100 soldiers, he said.
According to Trillo, Poland and Spain have agreed that that command could be subject to rotation with Spain every six months.
Szmajdzinski specified that a Spaniard would be deputy commander of the division, beneath an overall Polish commander. "It's a joint thing," he said, although adding that: "Only one person can be a division commander."
"It makes me very happy (that) the third brigade will be commanded by Spain," he told reporters.
The Polish brigade will be supported by troops from Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. The division will also include troops from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras, said the minister.
Spokesman Yves Brodeur for NATO, which last week agreed to provide support to Poland in managing its sector of Iraq, also welcomed the Spanish announcement.
"That's good news," he said, adding: "NATO allies are eager to assist Poland in putting this force together."
US officials underlined the increasing number of countries getting involved in the Iraq stabilization force.
"This is a coalition effort that we are embarking on. There are Poles, there are Americans, there are British, there are Spanish, there are Australians, and there are many, many other countries that will be involved," said one.
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