Robertson plays down Nato role in Iraq
IRNA
London, Dec 9, IRNA -- The outgoing secretary general of Nato, Lord Robertson, Tuesday dismissed US suggestions that the transatlantic military alliance could play a major role in Iraq. "It would strain an organisation that is already being strained by Afghanistan," said Robertson, who is due to stand down from his post at the end of December. He said that deployments tend happen incrementally rather than with a big bang and that "at the moment NATO has got one big bang to handle and that is taking over the stabilisation force in Kabul and then moving out of Kabul into the regions there." The Nato chief was questioned in an interview with BBC about the suggestion made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell that the western alliance could take a direct role in Iraq as America reduces its presence. Robertson did not completely rule out NATO taking on duties in Iraq, saying that "it is not beyond the realms of possibility that next year at some point a bigger role could be put forward by the countries." But he added that it "won`t be put forward in my view until we have got Afghanistan right." In his interview, the secretary general suggested that Nato did not perceive the setting up of an EU defence force as a threat. He said that he did not think it would destroy Nato but could cause "unnecessary duplication" in military planning. "None of it is going to be an absolute danger to NATO but what we don`t want is unnecessary duplication and what we cannot afford is any form of competition between NATO and the European Union," he warned. HC/212 End
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
