Berlin feathers ruffled over Iraq force

Poland has been invited to head northern Iraq peacekeeping force

Confusion and even tensions have emerged between Warsaw and Berlin over a suggestion that German troops should join a Polish-led peacekeeping force in Iraq.

Poland, asked by the US to run one of four proposed "sectors" of Iraq, suggested involving German troops in the force in an apparent fence-mending move.

But Germany reacted angrily to the suggestion saying it had not been consulted, forcing Poland to issue "clarifying" remarks.

In a further complication, Poland has said it wants a UN mandate before launching the peacekeeping force - which correspondents say it may not get.

There is some misunderstanding connected with this issue

Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz
Polish Foreign Minister

Poland was invited last week by the US to lead the force in northern Iraq, with the US, the UK and another country - possibly Denmark - running the others.

Polish Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski suggested in talks with his US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, that Germany and Denmark might contribute troops to the Polish sector.

German surprise

But his call appears to have only angered the Germans - who say they were not consulted in advance.

The Poles are thought to have suggested that the three-way force draw on an existing German-Danish-Polish corps.

German Defence Minister Peter Struck said he was surprised by the suggestion and would discuss it on Wednesday, when he is due to have talks in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

The US wants other countries to run peacekeeping missions

And Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz later appeared to play down his defence minister's suggestion, saying it should not be treated as an official proposal.

"There is some misunderstanding connected with this issue, with regard to what precisely our defence minister said in Washington," he said.

"But it concerns most of all a certain intention, the stating of a certain intention, that here we would like to co-operate with our European partners and also with countries which are members of the European Union.

"We would be extremely happy, of course, if they were also our Western neighbours."

Not only is the UN being bypassed, but what the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld once dismissed as "Old Europe" is also being excluded.

Click here to read World Affairs Correspondent Paul Reynolds on the peacekeeping force plans

Mr Cimoszewicz has also pressed for a UN mandate for the force.

"We believe that we need that kind of resolution. I understand that in days ahead there will be some initiatives opening the way to have such a resolution," he said after talks in Washington.

It is thought that a specific UN mandate for the peacekeeping operation would make German participation more likely.

But such a resolution is still expected to be some way off, because of continuing Security Council disagreements over oil sales and the status of an interim Iraqi authority.

Balancing act

Overall, analysts say Poland is trying to walk a delicate line between its US allies and its prospective EU partners.

French President Jacques Chirac has previously bitterly attacked former communist countries for siding with the US in the rift over Iraq.

Polish, French and German leaders are due to hold a summit this weekend, at which the issue of Iraq is expected to be aired again.

Poland's invitation to run an Iraqi sector is seen as a reward for its support during the Iraq war, which included sending a 200-strong special operations force.

We're interested in finding out who wants to participate and then putting together the best possible configuration

Richard Boucher
US State Department

The peacekeeping force would probably involve up to 2,200 Polish troops, but would need bolstering by other countries to reach its necessary size of up to 9,000.

Mr Szmajdzinski has also said Poland will need US financial help to run the force, which will cost an estimated $90m a year.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington had not ruled out any participants in a force for Iraq.

"We're interested in finding out who wants to participate and then putting together the best possible configuration," he said.

Mr Boucher also said the US did not believe that the force needed to be approved by the UN.

"It doesn't necessarily need to be, no," he said.

The Polish plans have been denounced in some German newspapers.

One paper described Poland as America's "Trojan ass" and another accused Warsaw of supplying the US with mercenaries.