Nato sees no Iraq role unless many conditions met

Nato will only consider a wider role in Iraq if a string of conditions are met including a US handover to a "credible" government in Baghdad, secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday.
During a visit to Norway, he said Nato was focused on getting more troops to Afghanistan rather than on helping stabilise Iraq after a planned transfer of power by Washington to a new Iraqi government on June 30.
"Afghanistan...is clearly the first priority," de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference after talks with Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. "The alliance should do more to get the necessary forces on the ground in Afghanistan."
Nato already has a strong commitment in Afghanistan, with some 6,500 troops in the capital Kabul. It also wants to widen reconstruction in the provinces outside Kabul.
However, asked whether Nato would consider a bigger role in Iraq, de Hoop Scheffer laid out a string of pre-conditions.
"If there is a sovereign, legitimate Iraqi government with full powers after June 30, and that government would direct a request to Nato, and if that request would be made on the basis of a new (UN) Security Council resolution, giving a specific mandate to a stabilisation force, then I think Nato allies could enter in that discussion," he said.
"But I say sovereign, legitimate and credible Iraqi government and a new UN Security Council resolution. Those are the all-important yardsticks," he added. Anti-war allies France and Germany have led opposition to a Nato role in stabilising Iraq despite US calls for help.
De Hoop Scheffer said troops from 16 Nato nations would be in Iraq after a planned pullout by Spanish forces, although they are not under a Nato mandate. Nato is, however, providing logistical support for a Polish-led division in Iraq.
Norway, which has 250 troops in Afghanistan and backed the US-led war to oust the Taleban after the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, said it would consider a Nato request to lead a reconstruction team in Afghanistan.
"We will participate in such a team but it's too early to say whether Norway would take on the role" of leader, Bondevik said.
Oslo plans to pull its 180 troops out of Iraq in June, in line with long-planned arrangements, despite a plea by Washington last week to stay on. Oslo did not support the US-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein last year.