NATO force 'preparing for Iraq'

Politicians never cease to amaze me at being able to get around any obstacle.

From The Australian

LONDON and Washington are reportedly drawing up a plan to send a NATO force including up to 3000 British troops to Iraq to support the interim Iraqi government as it takes over power.

The troops would be "temporarily extracted" from NATO and labelled a British-led international force to make it more politically acceptable to members of the alliance - notably France and Germany - that were opposed to the war, Britains Guardian newspaper said.

The force would come from NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, based in Germany under the command of a British general, Richard Dannatt, reinforced by a British battle group, the newspaper said.

About 60 per cent of the corps was British, it reported.

Officials told The Guardian> that the plan was expected to be formally agreed at the NATO summit in Istanbul on the eve of the official handover of sovereignty on June 30.


I love it! Pull 3,000 troops out of NATO, relabel them a "British-led international force" and presto changeo! Love it!
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