Pentagon chief defends Iraq invasion

MUNICH, Germany -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, defending the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to a skeptical international audience, said Saturday he is confident Saddam Hussein's removal eventually will spread "seeds of freedom" through the Middle East.

In a sign that prewar diplomatic rifts continue, however, Germany's foreign minister warned of "possibly fatal consequences" for NATO should the alliance take a direct role in Iraq's reconstruction that resulted in failure. Russia's defense minister, whose government also opposed the war, said military force should be used only "within the realm" of international law.

Rumsfeld made an impassioned defense of the U.S. role in the world, and said that Arab television networks' coverage was contributing to the decline in America's image abroad by promoting the notion that Americans are imperialists.

"I know in my heart and my brain that America ain't what's wrong with the world," Rumsfeld told a German questioner after his speech.

Rumsfeld asserted that the war showed other "rogue regimes" what could happen if they should refuse to come clean about disarming. He did not mention that inspectors have failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, a principal reason the Bush administration gave for invading last March.

Liberating the oppressed

The secretary suggested that Libya had an eye on what had happened to Iraq when the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, chose to end his weapons ambitions in December.

Rumsfeld said there was more at stake in Iraq than just banned weapons. He asserted that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have liberated 50 million oppressed people.

Without mentioning the administration's prewar claims that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, Rumsfeld said the war was worth the cost.

"The last 12 months has provided to the world's rogue regimes two different models of behavior: the path of cooperation and the path of defiance," he said.

As for NATO's involvement in Iraq, the United States has encouraged the alliance to consider a direct role but has not pressed the issue until Iraq regains self-rule, which is scheduled to occur July 1.

NATO's new secretary-general insisted the alliance should not rule out a role in Iraq.

"If a legitimate Iraqi government asks for our assistance, and if we have the support of the United Nations, NATO should not abdicate from its responsibilities," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the conference.

The same two alliance countries that were the most vigorously opposed to the Iraq war a year ago, Germany and France, reasserted their skepticism in Munich.

"The potentially very serious, possibly fatal, consequences for the alliance absolutely must be taken into consideration" because of the risk of failure, Germany's Fischer said.

The French defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, told reporters a deployment now would be premature. "France is not hostile in principle," she said, "but it hasn't been discussed because it's much too early."

The discussion about Iraq at this year's conference was less contentious than a year ago. Still, Rumsfeld offered a spirited defense of the war and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the invasion and its chaotic aftermath proved that his government's opposition was sound.

"We were not and are still not convinced of the validity of the reasons for war," Fischer said in opening remarks.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, whose government also opposed the war, was less explicit in his criticism but questioned the "admissibility of the unilateral use of force."

Without mentioning Iraq, Ivanov said, "It is wrong to fight terrorism with illegal techniques." He also said Iraq had "turned into a real magnet for terrorists" in the Middle East.

Fischer said the Iraq problem requires a broader plan for peace in the Middle East.

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On the Net:

NATO on security meeting: http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/02-february/e0206a.htm