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Nato rift widens { February 10 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/10/international/worldspecial/10cnd-dipl.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/10/international/worldspecial/10cnd-dipl.html
February 10, 2003
NATO Rift Widens Over Defense of Turkey in Case of Iraq War
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN with TERENCE NEILAN
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 — France, Germany and Belgium opened a division within NATO today by blocking proposals to increase Turkey's defenses in case of a war on Iraq, a move that the United States said called the alliance's credibility into question.
The three NATO countries, at a meeting in Brussels, said any move to defend Turkey now would signal that a conflict had begun. They said they acted in an attempt to slow the rush to war.
Turkey, which borders Iraq, responded by invoking NATO's Article IV, which says "parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence of security of any of the parties is threatened."
The dispute centers on planning for the deployment to Turkey of Awacs surveillance planes, Patriot missiles and antichemical and antibiological warfare teams.
The United States ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, denounced what he called "a most unfortunate decision by three allies to prevent NATO from assisting the legitimate defense needs of Turkey."
He added, "Because of their actions, NATO is now facing a crisis of credibility."
Anticipating the move, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld earlier denounced it as "a disgrace" in an interview with eight European newspapers. He said the countries behind it would be "judged by their own people and the other members of the alliance." On Sunday Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said it was "inexcusable" for Turkey's request to be blocked.
A somewhat more optimistic tone was sounded by NATO's secretary general, Lord Robertson, who called the deadlock "very serious" but said a solution could be in the offing.
Turkey's foreign minister, Yasar Yakis, called the dispute one of timing, and predicted in Ankara that "these difficulties can be overcome because in fact there is no divergence on the essence of the problem."
Europe has been deeply divided over United States preparations to attack Iraq unless Baghdad declares the full extent of any weapons of mass destruction it possesses, as demanded by the United Nations Security Council.
Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal and new NATO members from eastern Europe, have supported Washington's position. France and Germany, as well as Russia and China, want United Nations inspectors to be given more time to search for weapons in Iraq.
On Friday the chief United Nations arms inspector, Hans Blix, and the nuclear inspection chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, will report to the Security Council on Baghdad's cooperation with arms inspectors in Iraq. A negative report could hasten the countdown to war.
Mr. Blix said in Athens today, on his way back from a weekend in Baghdad, that Iraq had suggested new methods of investigation, including drilling into the ground, to better prove it does not have weapons of mass destruction.
"They themselves suggested new physical signs, new methods of investigating whether material they declared unilaterally destroyed, whether it was actually there," Dr. Blix told Reuters. "They will be drilling into the ground."
Before leave Iraq, Dr. Blix and Mr. ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said their latest visit had left them hopeful of a possible change of heart by Iraq, which has been accused of failing to cooperate fully.
The French and German position in NATO is said to be especially infuriating at the Pentagon, where planners say the Patriot missiles and other equipment need to start moving right now in order to reach Turkey on time. Mr. Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz have spent considerable effort in the last several months to line up Turkish help for a war with Iraq, and their efforts have borne fruit recently.
But French and German diplomats say that Turkey does not need the equipment now, and that the United States is pressing for it now only to give the shaky government led by Prime Minister Abdullah Gul in Turkey a show of political support that he can cite in his efforts to supply troops for an Iraq war.
American officials have tried to play down their anger over the NATO dispute, in part out of a desire not to aggravate tensions. But one American official called it a problem that could affect the unity of the entire Atlantic alliance forged after World War II.
Some say the relationship between the United States on one hand and France and Germany on the other is becoming increasingly poisonous. President Jacques Chirac of France was described by knowledgeable officials as furious over American efforts to gather support from other European nations for a war with Iraq.
"Chirac is not amused that the United States seems to be trying to isolate him and suggest that France is not the real leader of Europe," a European diplomat said.
The diplomat was referring to successful efforts to line up eight other nations in Europe to sign a declaration favoring disarmament of Iraq, which was interpreted as a rebuff to France. French officials complained that France had not been asked to sign the declaration, which they noted did not actually call for a war and therefore might have been acceptable to Mr. Chirac.
A second letter was released by 10 other European nations, mostly from Eastern Europe. Mr. Powell said on Sunday that those letters of support indicated that many Europeans supported the United States' view, even if France and Germany did not.
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