U.S. AND EUROPEAN UNION PLEDGE NATO AID FOR IRAQ

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS en “The New York Times” del 26/06/2004

Filed at 12:00 p.m. ET

Por su interés y relevancia, he seleccionado la noticia que sigue para incluirla en este sitio web. (L. B.-B.)

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS, Ireland (AP) -- The United States and the European Union offered strong support for Iraq's urgent request for NATO military help Saturday. ``NATO has the capability and I believe the responsibility to help the Iraqi people defeat the terrorist threat that's facing their country,'' President Bush said.

``I think the bitter differences of the war are over,'' Bush said at the close of a U.S.-European Union summit. ``There is a common interest and a common goal to help the Iraqi people.''

The United States and the European Union agreed in a joint statement to back Iraq's request for NATO military and support the training of Iraqi security forces, and to reduce Iraq's international debt, estimated to be $120 billion. Diplomats said later Saturday that NATO nations have reached a tentative agreement on plans to help train Iraq's armed forces.

But the joint statement also made a veiled criticism of abuse of prisoners by American soldiers. ``We stress the need for full respect of the Geneva Conventions,'' the statement said, referring to international accords setting out guidelines for the humane treatment of prisoners. The single sentence was an unstated but obvious reference to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

EU leaders raised the topic with Bush in their private meetings Saturday, and also aired it publicly during a joint news conference.

``These things unfortunately happened, and of course we wish they didn't. But they do,'' Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said. ``What's important is how they're dealt with.''

Bush said, ``It did harm. It did harm.'' But he said the American investigations will be done openly, as opposed to the secrecy of Saddam Hussein's atrocities. ``I don't remember any international investigation of what took place in Iraq'' under Saddam, Bush said.

Bush also described the threat posed by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has been linked to al-Qaida and is thought to be responsible for hundreds of deaths in Iraq. ``He is a problem because he is willing to kill innocent people,'' the president said.

The U.S.-EU joint statements were largely a victory for Bush, attending the first of two summits over five days. They sent him on to the NATO summit beginning Sunday in Turkey with progress in hand: Nineteen of NATO's 26 members are in the EU, so the union's pledge of support could help sway NATO members at their gathering.

Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi sent a letter to NATO this week pleading for ``urgent help'' from the alliance to build up Iraqi forces ``to defeat the terrorist threat and reduce reliance on foreign forces.''

The news conference was held outside a 16th-century castle that was heavily guarded against security threats and from the thousands of demonstrators protesting Bush's policies in Iraq.

At Bush's next stop, in Ankara, Turkey, police fired tear gas canisters as more than 100 left-wing demonstrators hurled rocks and used sticks to try to break down a police barricade during a protest against Bush's arrival.

Asked about his unpopularity in Europe, Bush said: ``I must confess that the first polls I worry about are those that are going to take place in early November this year.''

He brushed off criticism by Europeans. ``As far as my own personal standing goes, my job is to do my job. I'm going to do it the way I think is necessary. I'm going to set a vision. I will lead, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may.''

The EU statement encouraged other international organizations -- such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and others -- to support Iraq's economic and political reconstruction, focusing on projects identified by the interim government.

The United States and 25-nation EU pledged to help reduce Iraq's estimated $120 billion foreign debt.

In other declarations and statements issued at the close of the brief summit, the United States and EU agreed to:

--Better combat terrorism by sharing data on lost and stolen passports, work more closely on hunting down terrorist' financing networks and increasing cooperation between law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic.

--Expand cooperation to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

--Back continued peace talks to end 20 years of civil conflict in southern Sudan, and advance efforts being made by the United Nations to bring peace to all Sudan and address humanitarian and human rights crises in Darfur in western Sudan.

On the economic side, the United States and the EU signed an agreement Saturday to make the EU's planned satellite navigation system compatible with the existing U.S. Global Positioning System.

Bush also the EU to offer membership to Turkey, a key U.S. ally in the war against terror.

About 5,000 protesters traveled by bus Saturday from all over Ireland and marched to barbed wire barricades set up a few miles from the castle. No arrests were reported.

``George Bush, No. 1 terrorist,'' chanted the crowd. One group of demonstrators held a white coffin to symbolize Iraqi civilians killed in the war.

About 4,000 police officers and 2,000 soldiers -- more than one-third of the security forces in the Irish Republic -- were deployed to protect Bush. Weekend protests were expected in several European cities.