Military

DATE=02/11/03

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=NATO RIFT GROWS

NUMBER=6-12818

BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS

TELEPHONE=619-3335

CONTENT=

INTRO: The U-S press is largely critical of the decision by France, Germany and Belgium to block NATO plans to fortify Turkish defenses in case of a war in Iraq. The concern voiced in editorial columns is over what they see as the growing rift between key members of NATO.

We get a sampling now from V-O-A's ____________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: A disagreement among NATO members over, among other things, strengthening Turkey's defenses in the event of war with Iraq is turning into a nasty squabble. Some American commentators are suggesting the dispute could threaten the organization's very foundation. We begin with two of the more strident viewpoints as expressed first in this San Francisco Chronicle editorial.

VOICE: In its seeming haste for war, the Bush administration is engaged in a potentially damaging dispute with some of its most important NATO allies, and with Russia, over how to proceed in disarming Hussein. France, Germany and Russia have joined in a call for strengthened and extended U-N inspections to avert war and promote a diplomatic resolution with Baghdad.

. Belgium, Germany and France further embarrassed [President] Bush by blocking NATO planning to protect Turkey from Iraqi attack in the event of war. . The Bush administration must attend seriously to the strain in the Atlantic alliance.

TEXT: Georgia's Savannah Morning News is angry with our long-time allies.

VOICE: France and Germany last weekend moved from carping [Editors: "complaining"] about an American-led war to disarm Iraq to actively obstructing it. In so doing, they reinforced the growing belief that they aren't cowardly appeasers of Saddam Hussein, but cunning opportunists seeking to reassert their faded global influence - - at the expense of American power.

TEXT: The New York Times says the trans-Atlantic row is getting personal:

VOICE: The NATO alliance is facing what may be its greatest crisis in a generation. Obviously, Turkey should get what it needs. But this has become a charged debate because it is a proxy for another more fundamental argument - - whether our allies should be expected merely to accede to American policy. [This] has turned into far too personal a dispute over American leadership.

TEXT: In California's capital, The Sacramento Bee worries that:

VOICE: A deep rift about whether to prolong United Nations inspections to ensure that Iraq gets rid of all its weapons ... seems to be widening. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has gratuitously insulted Germany by lumping it with Cuba and Libya among countries that "won't do anything" to help disarm Iraq. That ignores Berlin's deployment of thousands of . peacekeepers in Afghanistan, its aggressive pursuit of suspected terrorists at home and its promise to allow [the] U-S use of German airspace and bases in the event of war.

TEXT: In the national capital, The Washington Post joins the debate, noting caustically:

VOICE: France and Germany have finally responded to Iraq's flagrant violation of [U-N] disarmament orders by mounting an offensive . [against] the United States - - and the proximate casualties look to be not the power structures of a rogue dictator but the international institutions that have anchored European and global security.

TEXT: Minnesota's Minneapolis Star Tribune is worried by what it sees as a lack of diplomacy exacerbating the rift. "It would help a lot if voices were lowered (stay home, Donald Rumsfeld) and the differences, the legitimate differences, were explored rather than papered over." . In Texas, The Houston Chronicle is also concerned, but after citing the areas of conflict adds reassuringly:" . Predictions of NATO's imminent demise are wildly premature."

That does little to reassure The Boston Herald, which says:

VOICE: For the first time in the 53-year history of NATO a member nation has requested "emergency consultations" under that treaty. and thus far "old Europe" .has opted to play obstructionist games. At stake is the security of a valued ally . that has the. misfortune of bordering Iraq. . Only France, Germany and Belgium blocked the proposals. Their action was. shameful.

TEXT: However, a hopeful Seattle [Washington] Post-Intelligencer suggests that: ".the unlikely combination of European leaders' reluctance to use military force and [President] Bush's urgency to do so may be forging alchemy of peace."

On that optimistic note, we conclude this editorial sampling on the growing rift within NATO.

NEB/ANG/MAR