NATO military chiefs have agreed that an officer in the US-led Multinational Force in Iraq should run the alliance's fledgling training mission there, senior diplomatic sources said today.
The accord, if approved at political level by NATO ambassadors, would end a months-long row over command of the mission that has reopened tensions between the United States and France, chief opponent of the war in Iraq.
Under the deal worked out by top generals from NATO's 26 member nations, the mission will report to the US officer currently in command of training operations in the country, Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, the sources said.
The agreement was possible after France appeared to drop earlier objections to so-called "double-hatting", where one officer has responsibilities both within the Multinational Force and the NATO mission, they added.
Ambassadors to the alliance will discuss the draft accord at NATO headquarters tomorrow.
No final decision is expected for a few weeks, but the sources said the ambassadors were unlikely to veto a deal brokered among their top generals.
NATO ambassadors have ruled out a direct collective role for the alliance in peacekeeping because of deep differences between the US-led coalition and European critics of the Iraq war such as France and Germany.
But NATO members agreed in July to help the Iraqi government rebuild its army and police forces amid a violent insurgency and ahead of elections scheduled for January.
The decision on who should command the force was postponed.
One option now being discussed is for NATO to expand an existing 57-head mission there by setting up a military academy to train top Iraqi officers.
Meeting NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer for talks in Brussels earlier, interim Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar called on the alliance to help its security forces make sure elections scheduled for January went ahead on time.
"We want further help from NATO ... to enhance our security forces, especially going towards elections in January. We want a safe environment for Iraqis to cast their votes without being afraid of anybody," he said.
Mr De Hoop Scheffer promised that NATO would respond quickly. "NATO will speedily implement," Mr de Hoop Scheffer said. "It is urgent that Iraqis take security into their own hands."