US backs down over Nato force for Iraq

The United States abruptly changed course over Iraq yesterday, urging Nato to prepare for a key role in the country next year, as Washington turned to its European allies to share the burden of the troubled military occupation.

With the Bush administration making little secret of its desire for an Iraq exit strategy, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, suggested that the transatlantic alliance make a start by taking over one of four military zones now led by Poland, possibly next summer.

Another American soldier, and at least two Iraqis, were killed in Baghdad today when a bomb exploded near a mosque as a military convoy passed by.

General Powell's appeal is another gambit in Washington's efforts to spread responsibility for the operation in Iraq - at the modest price of ceding some control to an organisation of which the US is effectively in charge. The US goal is clearly to see more soldiers from its allies alongside US troops constituting 130,000 of the 154,000-strong coalition force.

US allies, facing growing casualties in Iraq, are increasingly reluctant to commit more troops without a greater say in the conduct of operations. But that alone is unlikely to reduce the risks. Iraqi resistance fighters are unlikely to distinguish between coalition forces from a Nato member country fighting under US command, and ones deployed under a Nato mandate.

Although there was no formal proposal from the Americans at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday, the idea of a greater Nato role in Iraq was welcomed by six countries, including Spain, Italy, Poland and Turkey. The most vocal critics of the war, France, Germany and Belgium, made no objections, staying silent instead.

In a text of a speech released before yesterday's meeting, General Powell said: "We urge the alliance to examine how it might do more to support peace and stability in Iraq". Later he said: "We are looking forward to consulting with our friends in the alliance and the [Nato] secretary general for options for enhanced Nato participation in the mission."

One possibility was that Nato could "take responsibility" for the Polish-led south central military district of Iraq, he said, though there "may be a broader thing that Nato can do".

Nato's outgoing secretary general, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, said that "serious thought should be given to what should be done".

Romania's Foreign Minister, Mircea Geoana, said: "There is growing interest in seeing more involvement of Nato in Iraq. We did not have a consensus today but I think discussions were conducive to a breakthrough in the future."

More cautious nations pointed out that Nato has had difficulty getting equipment needed for its mission to Afghanistan, and military staff are not keen to take on another challenge without adequate resources.

The position of France, most likely to oppose a Nato role, remained unclear. Without a fresh UN mandate some policy-makers in Paris may resist an alliance deployment, though it was being made clear last night that there was no "theological" opposition from France.

The US Deputy Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, was the first to float the idea of the alliance taking a role in Iraq before the war. However there was no question of it becoming actively involved in the military campaign: several nations opposed the campaign, and the US had by then decided to assemble its own ad hoc coalition.

Once the occupation was under way Nato helped Poland to prepare its peace-keeping mission there, though it now has no staff on the ground. Moreover 18 of the 26 current and acceding Nato nations have offered some form of help to the Iraq operation.

A more formal role for the alliance is most likely to emerge next year when Poland and Spain face tough decisions on whether to replenish their troops. European countries have promised to stay in Iraq until next year at the latest, but casualties are mounting. In the most recent incident involving a Nato ally, seven Spanish intelligence officers were killed on Saturday.

With a bid for Nato help over Iraq in the air, Mr Powell was careful to take a diplomatic approach to the explosive issue of EU defence, and plans to create an autonomous operational military planning capability.

... and Bush ends steel tariffs

The US government abandoned its tariffs on steel imports yesterday in the face of global opposition and the threat of a damaging transatlantic trade war.

The European Union had threatened retaliatory duties of up to $2.2bn (£1.2bn) on American goods after the World Trade Organisation ruled the protective duties illegal last month. The EU sanctions were due to take effect from 15 December.

President George Bush's administration initially imposed the measures 20 months ago, claiming that US industry was being damaged unfairly by cheap imports. Several venerable steel companies, including the giant Bethlehem Steel, had sought bankruptcy protection in the US.