The US Secretary of Defence, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, said yesterday that the United States had formally requested military assistance from NATO allies in the event of a war with Iraq. Conor O'Clery, North America Editor, reports
The NATO proposal represents a further step towards military intervention by President Bush, who on Tuesday warned that time was running out for President Saddam Hussein. US-led forces are expected to be ready for battle in the Gulf by mid-February.
Mr Rumsfeld confirmed the request after reports from NATO headquarters in Brussels that the US had sought six forms of indirect military support, including access to airspace, bases, ports and refuelling facilities.
At the Pentagon yesterday Mr Rumsfeld warned that war with Iraq could only be avoided if Baghdad disarmed or if President Saddam left the country.
"The choice between war and peace will not be made in Washington or New York, it will be made in Baghdad," said Mr Rumsfeld.
He also resurrected Mr Bush's warning of last autumn - when UN Security Council members were agonising over US demands for a tough new resolution on Iraqi disarmament - that the credibility of the UN was at stake.
If the Security Council failed the test on Iraq, it could collapse like the League of Nations, he said.
The renewed US pressure on the 15-member council coincided with a warning yesterday from the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, that military action against Iraq might be needed without a fresh UN mandate.
If Iraq was found to have breached a UN Security Council resolution passed in November, and if the council put an "unreasonable veto" on war, the UK would not rule out action in those circumstances, Mr Blair told the House of Commons.
Security Council Resolution 1441 warns Iraq of "serious consequences" if it fails to co-operate fully with the UN inspectors. The US has promised to consult members on military action but not to be bound by a second resolution.
The UN Security Council will convene on January 27th to hear the first formal report on Iraqi compliance from UN weapons inspectors. Four days later Mr Blair and Mr Bush will hold a summit at Camp David outside Washington, it was announced yesterday.
Washington asked for NATO support at a meeting of the 19-member alliance in Brussels. If NATO agrees, a series of proposals will be sent to its military planners for action. No decision had been made to attack Iraq, "but it does take time to plan," Mr Rumsfeld told reporters.
The US reportedly asked NATO ambassadors to co-ordinate overflight rights, air or sea transport for troops and equipment, air-to-air refuelling, air cover for ground troops, the use of AWACS radar surveillance aircraft and the use of personnel from NATO countries for post-war security measures.
Washington also reportedly wants the deployment of Patriot "anti-missile" missiles in Turkey in case of a counterstrike by Iraq on Turkish bases being used as a launching pad for American air strikes.
The US National Security Adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, flew unannounced to New York on Tuesday to press the chief UN weapons inspector, Dr Hans Blix, to take Iraqi scientists out of the country for confidential interviews, the Washington Post reported yesterday.