Nato gears up for Iraq role

France has been wary of extending Nato's scope

Nato has indicated it is ready to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq, but says it has not yet been asked to do so.

The United States has been pushing for months for the alliance to take on a key post-war role in Iraq.

But countries among the 19 members opposed to the conflict had previously said the request was premature.

If tasked, we could bring our resources and talents to bear to fashion a response

General James Jones
Supreme military commander

However on Thursday, France said it was "ready to examine with its allies the issue of a possible role for Nato in Iraq."

It would form a view "based on detailed proposals due to be presented to the North Atlantic Council and on factors including the nature of the mission, the command chain and the legal basis for the operation", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Cecile Pozzo di Borgo told journalists in Paris.

Fence-mending

In a rare appearance at Nato's military headquarters outside Brussels, supreme military commander General James Jones seemed confident that alliance peace-keepers could be deployed in Iraq sometime in the future.

"Nato is a very capable organisation," he said. "If tasked, we could bring our resources to bear to fashion a response."

When the possibility of such a role for Nato was first officially broached last December, there was opposition from France and other states.

But US Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking after a visit to Nato HQ this month, said no alliance members were ruling out the possibility.

Correspondents say that with France trying to mend diplomatic fences with the US, it may now be prepared to show flexibility on Iraq, just as it reluctantly agreed last week to Nato taking charge of peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan from August.

The US Secretary of State has already warned that France will face consequences for its vociferous opposition to the military campaign in Iraq.

One possibility, an unnamed senior official said, was that the US might seek to exclude France from key Nato decisions.