BRUSSELS, April 2: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's divisions over Iraq resurfaced on Friday when the United States urged the alliance to consider a wider role in stabilizing the Middle Eastern state but France and Germany refused.
"The United States believes the alliance should consider a new collective role after the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said after meeting Nato foreign ministers to mark the alliance's enlargement.
But German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Nato had enough to do in expanding security in Afghanistan, peacekeeping in the Balkans and fighting terrorism.
New French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Nato was "simply not the right place where decisions should be prepared or taken concerning the situation in Iraq after July 1, when a legitimate government is established".
Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said ministers had only a brief discussion on Iraq and it would take a request from a sovereign Iraqi government and a new U.N. Security Council resolution before the allies might consider a role.
A Nato official said the alliance was unwilling to commit itself to any role because it was struggling to find new forces to bolster security for Afghanistan's September elections.
The US-led invasion of Iraq split Nato last year, with France and Germany leading opposition for several weeks to efforts to provide protection for Turkey before the war.
Since then, Nato has limited itself to providing logistical support for a Polish-led division in south-central Iraq as part of coalition occupation forces.
"OVERSTRETCH": Asked what role the alliance might take, Powell said: "Ideas right now include Nato taking over one of the sectors, Nato playing a role in helping Iraqi forces get more capable."
Britain played down the differences. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Nato often ended up finding consensus after countries came to the table with different starting points.
Mr Fischer reaffirmed that Germany would not block but would not participate militarily in any Nato role in Iraq.
"Nato has enough on its plate with the stabilisation of the Balkans and making a success of the...process in Afghanistan. Plus, we have to fight terrorism. It is an issue of overstretch," he told a news conference.
Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, three of the seven new east European nations which joined Nato this week, voiced support for a bigger role for the alliance in Iraq, where they and the three Baltic newcomers to Nato already have forces.
But Poland, which has 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, expressed less urgency about a Nato takeover.-Reuters
