Emergency NATO Meeting Fails to Break Deadlock

Associated Press ^ | February 10, 2003 | Paul Ames

[AntiGuv]

BRUSSELS, Belgium - An emergency NATO meeting called after France, Germany and Belgium again blocked a U.S. request to start planning Turkey's defense in the event of war in Iraq ended Monday with no breakthrough, diplomats said.

The unscheduled consultations — convened after Turkey invoked NATO's mutual defense treaty — were to resume on Tuesday, diplomats and NATO sources said on condition of anonymity.

"The majority of the NATO countries reiterated the urgency for NATO to take a decision," Secretary-General Lord Robertson said. "Unfortunately we're not yet at the stage where we can achieve consensus."

He said negotiations were continuing informally and the North Atlantic Council, NATO's political body, would resume on Tuesday.

"It is a matter of enormous consequence for this alliance and therefore people are taking it very seriously," he said.

[tomahawk]

NATO is dead, murdered by the French, Germans and Belgians. Perfidy brought to a new level. Defenders of the Butcher of Baghdad. Possible enemies of the United States.

[July 4th]

Oh well, Europe. Have fun defending yourselves.

[SouthernFreebird]

Lets Roll....... tired of all the crap we get from the UN.

[Diana Rose]

Can we move out of Germany now?

[SouthernFreebird]

Oooops wrong post......LOL

[knak]

irrelevant

[RoughDobermann]

Isn't it true that France is a member of NATO in name only? IIRC, they pulled their troop commitments in 1966...

[Dog Gone]

They aren't going to reach a resolution tomorrow, either.

[AntiGuv]

Yep, that's essentially true. They're signatories to the NATO charter mutual-defense pact but withdrew from the integrated command structure four decades ago.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Why do I get the feeling that these countries just want money, concessions, and goodies from us to shut up.

Or is the whole deal only to save worldwide socialism from a major body blow?

[ladtx]

Let me get this straight. You're in a mutual defense pact with other nations. You request help in defense of your country and the other nations get to decide if they really want to help or not. What's the difference if you're not in a mutual defense pact and you ask several other nations for help. They hold a meeting to decide. Ooooohhhhhh I see now. No diff. Seems like the mutual defense pact is just a tad meaningless.

[RoughDobermann]

Thanks. So why exactly do they still want to be (or allowed to be) part of a MILITARY alliance?

[boxer]

What the heck don't the French want us to find?

[Travis McGee]

Goodbye NATO!

Only UNamericans put the UN before America!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Now Iran's terrorst's claim they will attack Israel, when we attack Iraq. The wacko dictator in N.Korea thinks that he was born on a sacred mountain and thunder and ligtning happened at the moment of his birth. France, Germany, Russia and China all seem to be backing terrorisim and dealing with them (supplies and tanks)

There will be wars and rumors of wars...

Woe, when Israel is surrounded by compass with armies.

[trebb]

What the heck don't the French want us to find?

It do tend to make one wonder don't it?

Another question might be - When the UN and NATO go down the tubes, what international committee will replace them?
That's the one we need to watch, re: Revelations...

[Ingtar]

President Bush is already postponing/cancelling plans for major upgrades (spending) in the areas where we have bases in Germany. Perhaps that will lead to either more cooperation or withdrawal of NATO.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Move out of Germany? Why? Occupy them forever...along with Iraq.