NATO divided on war

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO agreed to end a damaging split Sunday over U.S. plans for war on Iraq that created the West's biggest rift since the Cold War, but European Union leaders faced a bruising summit, with France showing no sign of backing down in its opposition.\nThe alliance of the United States and 15 other nations finally reached agreement late Sunday after a month of wrangling after France was shut out of talks. The other holdouts, Germany and Belgium, then dropped objections to begin planning to defend Turkey in the event of an attack by neighboring Iraq, NATO officials said.\n"Alliance solidarity has prevailed," NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said. "We have been able collectively to overcome the impasse."\nBut there was little sign that the breakthrough at NATO would avert a confrontation Monday at an emergency EU summit called to find a common position on Iraq and end the deep division in the bloc.\nAfter the breakthrough at NATO, France, Germany and Belgium issued a statement balancing their commitment to honor their defense obligations with their desire to disarm Iraq peacefully. The statement said not all alternatives to military force had been "fully exploited."\nThe United States tried Sunday to defuse the trans-Atlantic row, although Washington would not back down on demanding swift action to disarm Iraq. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Washington was not interested in retribution against France and other allies.\n"We don't need to allow this to become a street fight between the United States and France, the United States and Germany," she said on NBC-TV.\nNATO had been stymied for a month over opposition from France, Germany and Belgium to a U.S.-backed plan to begin planning for possible military aid to Turkey in the event of war with Iraq. Turkey, the only NATO state to border Iraq, is a possible launching point for U.S. military action.\nAgreement was threatened when Belgium demanded linking any NATO deployment to developments at the U.N. Security Council, but the final statement made no firm commitment. "We continue to support efforts in the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis," the NATO statement said.\nThe United States wants NATO to send early-warning aircraft, missile defenses and anti-biochemical units to Turkey in case Iraq attacks. Planning should be wrapped up quickly and the alliance would be ready to make a decision on deployment of actual aid within a few days, a top official said.\nThere was no sign of easy agreement at Monday's EU meeting, diplomats said, with neither side apparently willing to compromise. France and Germany wanted the EU to back them and insist there was no case for war against Iraq at this time, a position rejected by Britain.\nThe summit is seen as a crucial test of the EU's drive to forge a united front on foreign policy and security issues. Failure to work out a common stand on Iraq could exacerbate divisions over the EU's future, especially the drive to create a power capable of balancing the United States on the world stage.\nGreece, the current EU president, has warned the group faces a crisis if it fails to agree on a common position on Iraq. But Greek diplomats said they were too uncertain of the outcome to even propose a joint position for discussion.\nParis and Berlin have led the opposition to U.S. demands to swiftly disarm Saddam Hussein's regime. Washington, with strong British support, says Iraq is concealing weapons of massive destruction and not cooperating with a United Nations resolution to disarm.\nThe EU split erupted when the leaders of eight European countries -- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Hungary, Poland and Denmark and the Czech Republic -- signed a letter expressing support for the United States. France, caught by surprise, was enraged, seeing it as a direct challenge.\nFrance reiterated the U.N. weapons inspectors can disarm Iraq peacefully and must have more time. French Foreign Minister Dominque de Villepin rejected U.S. and British calls for a second U.N. resolution authorizing action.\n"For us, such a resolution is not necessary while inspections continue to advance," he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.\nDe Villepin urged Europe to unite on Iraq, suggesting the United States could not alone ensure global security. He also rejected ousting Saddam in a rebuff to Washington and London, who say the Iraqi leader is a threat.\n"That is not acceptable, and above all, it's dangerous," he was quoted as saying.\nThe anti-war camp was boosted by protests around the world Saturday, when millions marched against war. That came after U.N. weapons inspectors said Friday that Iraq had shown some signs of improving its cooperation.\nBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair, the strongest U.S. ally in Europe, needs a second U.N. resolution to swing around a population largely opposed to war. Blair received a boost Sunday when senior ministers urged the divided governing Labor Party to back the premier.\nFor the EU, the dispute over Iraq masks a more vital debate over its future identity and global role. France and Germany want a common foreign policy that, under their direction, will counter the United States on the world stage.\nBut many EU members refuse to give up control of their foreign policy and are determined to retain strong ties with the United States, which they see as essential to their security. Several eastern European states preparing to join the EU were excluded from attending Monday's meeting because of their strong pro-U.S. stance.\nFrance and Germany, which have long dominated the EU, are anxious to cement their claim to pre-eminence before the expansion of the union to 25 nations.\nAlso Sunday, Turkey appeared to take a step back from its already lukewarm backing of the United States, with the government saying a Tuesday vote was likely to be delayed on allowing U.S. troops to base in Turkey for war with Iraq.\nThe announcement came after the foreign minister returned from Washington where he was unable to successfully negotiate an aid package for Ankara against likely economic disruptions should there be war.