- (AFP) - The United States and France clashed again over
Iraq, sparring over NATO's role in the occupation, one day after soothing
their dispute on post-war strategy with a new UN resolution.
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- Diplomatic hostilities reignited at the Group of Eight
summit, after Bush, emboldened by the Security Council green light for
his bid to remake Iraq, went on the offensive, calling for a greater NATO
presence in the country.
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- "We will work with our NATO friends to at least
continue the role that now exists and hopefully expand it somewhat,"
Bush told reporters after huddling for breakfast with top war ally, British
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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- Facing a knife-edge reelection battle, Bush wants to
ease the plight of US troops, many of whom are reservists or on extended
tours as they battle a vicious insurgency.
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- But French President Jacques Chirac, reprising his role
as Bush's chief antagonist over the Iraq invasion last year, erected an
immediate rhetorical roadblock on the highly secured private island hosting
the summit.
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- "I do not think that it is NATO's job to intervene
in Iraq," Chirac said.
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- "Moreover, I do not have the feeling that it would
be either timely or necessarily well understood," said Chirac.
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- "I see myself with strong reservations on this initiative."
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- Although the United States, Britain and other NATO members
have troops in Iraq, the alliance has no real formal role in the country,
and some NATO members like Canada, France and Germany have declined to
send troops.
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- The clash overshadowed a display of unity put on by smiling
leaders, zipping to talks at a plush east coast resort in hi-tech golf
buggies.
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- Discord also surfaced over the issue of Iraq's mountainous
debt, with European states resisting US calls to quickly forgive almost
all of it.
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- A French official, who asked not to be named, said the
G8 had agreed to forgive a "substantial" part of Iraq's 120-billion-dollar
debt but had not set a precise figure.
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- The United States is pushing for up to 90 percent to
be canceled but countries like France, Russia and Canada unwilling to go
so far.
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- Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to cancel 65
percent of the Iraqi debt and is also linking the move to the ability of
his country's businesses to operate in Iraq, a Russian official said.
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- He quoted Putin as telling US President George W. Bush
that "our flexibility will depend on yours and the capacity of our
businesses to work in Iraq."
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- New sparring over Iraq emerged as Bush prepared to introduce
the country's Iraqi interim president Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar to the world
stage.
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- A day after the Security Council voted to return Iraqi
sovereignty but to permit US troops to stay on, Bush was also due to hold
one-on-one talks with al-Yawar.
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- Despite the discord, the summit did deliver early on
the trade front, as G8 leaders vowed to revive stalled World Trade Organization
talks "promptly," according to Japanese officials.
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- Bush also tried to prevent his watered down plans for
a social, political and economic shakedown of the Middle East and northern
Africa from fizzling out completely.
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- Egypt and Saudi Arabia, alarmed by the implications of
the initiative declined an invitation to the millionaires' playground on
the east coast hosting the three-day summit.
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- Europe too has signalled it believes threats to the West
from the Middle East can best be eased by first draining the Israeli-Palestinian
bloodbath.
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- The White House is pushing a "Broader Middle East
and North Africa Initiative" to promote political, social and economic
reforms, and has rejected calls to shelve the strategy until the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict cools.
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- But European Commission chief Romano Prodi warned Tuesday
that "the mother of all conflicts is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,"
arguing only peace in the Holy Land would spur reform and Western oriented
policies in the region.
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- European Union officials said that any US focus on the
region was welcome, but diplomatic adviser to the European Commission Stefano
Sanino said Europe had been working on the same lines for years : "for
us there is nothing new in this," he said.
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- Sources in Cairo said Egypt and Saudi Arabia fear they
are first on the Washington wishlist for political, social and economic
reform in the region and declined an invitation to attend the summit.
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- Tunisia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Arab
League followed suit, but the leaders of Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan and Yemen
have accepted Bush's invitation.
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- The summit, less than a month after the United States
warned al-Qaeda may soon attempt another strike, follows new terror attacks
in Saudi Arabia and warnings attributed to al-Qaeda that Western airliners
could be in the cross-hairs again.
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- The White House said G8 leaders will agree to improve
airline security and boost initiatives to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.
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- The Group of Eight consists of Britain, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
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