Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/3/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=POWELL / EUROPE (L)

NUMBER=2-301722

BYLINE=DOUGLAS BAKSHIAN

DATELINE=BRUSSELS

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Secretary of State Colin Powell has told European officials that the United States, not the United Nations, must have the lead role in Iraq's postwar reconstruction and has defended the use of force to back up diplomacy. Douglas Bakshian reports from Brussels where Mr. Powell met with NATO and European Union foreign ministers.

TEXT: The 15-nation European Union has called for a central United Nations role in rebuilding Iraq. While there will be some U-N role, according to Mr. Powell, the U-S-led coalition should have the lead in reconstruction efforts.

/// POWELL ACT ///

It was the coalition that came together and took on this difficult mission - at political expense, at the expense of the treasury, the money that it costs, but at the expense of lives as well. And when we have succeeded, and when we have looked down the road to create this better life for the Iraqi people to rebuild this society, to rebuild this country after these decades of devastation brought by Saddam Hussein. I think the coalition has to play the leading role.

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The war in Iraq has caused deep divisions within the European Union. France, Germany, and Belgium have opposed the war to oust Saddam Hussein, while Britain and Spain have backed the U-S action - with Britain committing troops. French President Jacques Chirac is against giving the United States and Britain a dominant role in rebuilding Iraq, saying it would legitimize a war that they started without U-N approval.

In his remarks, Mr. Powell defended the U-S decision to take military action against the government of Saddam Hussein.

/// POWELL ACT ///

Diplomacy must be backed by force. And diplomacy is useless if one is not willing to use force to impose the will of the international community on a nation such as Iraq, which violated the will of the international community.

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The possibility of deploying a NATO peacekeeping force in Iraq came up at the Brussels meeting. Secretary Powell told reporters the United States has made no formal request for NATO troops, but he said he was pleased his NATO colleagues were willing to consider it. (SIGNED)

NEB/DB/KL/RAE