WASHINGTON, July 10: Washington hopes to share the cost and responsibility of the ongoing military occupation Iraq with a coalition of countries, NATO members playing a key role, top defense officials said on Wednesday.

“We’ve got 19 countries on the ground, we’ve got commitment from another 19,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

At the hearing, which aimed to draw lessons learned from recent US military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rumsfeld and recently retired General Tommy Franks who until earlier this week led US Central Command, agreed with various members of the panel that the postwar reconstruction must include a broad array of nations.

“Italy and Spain have both made commitments,” said Rumsfeld who said he expected additional deployments of foreign troops beginning in September.

In addition, “We have made a request to France and Germany,” the US defense secretary said — made by Deputy Secetary of state Paul Wolfowitz in January, before the war began.

“Our goal is to get a large number of international forces from a lot of countries, including those two,” he said.

“We have made requests to something like 70, 80 or 90 countries,” Rumsfeld said.—AFP