2008 Woodie Awards
Bush hails NATO pledge of support in Iraq
William Douglas and Matthew Schofield ; Knight Ridder Newspapers
Issue date: 3/2/05 Section: News
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Bush also sought to quell European concerns that he's itching to take military action against Iran over its nuclear ambitions, calling such fears "simply ridiculous." However, he quickly added: "Having said that, all options are on the table," a line he's often used when asked about dealing with Iran and one that left his ultimate message to Tehran ambiguous.
The president and White House officials were all smiles when NATO officials announced a unanimous pledge to increase the number of trainers of Iraqi security forces and to donate more financially to the mission. U.S. officials hailed the contributions as a sign that the White House and European capitals are putting their differences over Iraq behind them.
"Every contribution matters, and every country ought to be proud of the fact that they're contributing to the world's newest democracy," Bush said during a news conference. " ... And I am grateful."
But NATO's gift looks smaller when unwrapped; in fact, NATO and White House officials refused to provide details of how much countries will contribute, preferring to emphasize only the fact of agreement.
"I'm really reluctant to announce figures for other countries," said a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. "But if you go to NATO. ... I think they've even got a fact sheet today with numbers on them."
Not so, said NATO.
"We're not giving one (summary) because it changes every day," said a NATO official who spoke only on condition of anonymity. "And some governments don't like us doing it. They prefer to do it themselves."
Officials did say that they hope NATO's contributions will increase the number of military instructors in Iraq to 160 from 100 currently, with 17 countries providing personnel. Iraq hopes to train a homegrown security force of some 270,000 troops, a goal critical to any U.S. exit strategy.