Monday, February 10—NATO members clashed in what may be the worst disagreement in its 54-year history. Member nations France, Germany, and Belgium blocked military planning to defend member nation Turkey from attacks by Iraq. It is the first time any country has been denied protection.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization consists of 19 member nations. According to Article 4 of NATO's mutual defense treaty, any member under threat from another country will be protected by NATO troops. Turkey, expecting a backlash from Iraq for allowing U.S. troops to be stationed within its borders, asked for such protection. It was denied.
"If allies can't respond to Article 4, it introduces doubt about whether NATO can fulfill its commitments," one NATO diplomat said.
The alliance of nations is not in danger of losing its credibility, said U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"There are 19 countries in NATO, so it's 16-3," he said. Turkey will be protected with or without NATO support, he added.
NATO will meet on the issue again tomorrow.
UN Security Council Protest
Meanwhile, France and Germany have mounted a campaign in the UN Security Council to stop the U.S. from attacking Iraq without UN backing. They want to increase the number of weapons inspectors and give the inspectors more time.
"The issue is not more inspectors," said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. "The issue is compliance on the part of Saddam Hussein."
So far, some 119,000 U.S. troops are deployed in the Persian Gulf region. The number is expected to be at 200,000 by the end of this week.
Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix is to make the next report to the council on Friday, February 14. If the report shows Saddam Hussein is still not cooperating, Powell said, the U.S. is prepared to act.
