US Asks for NATO Military Support: Rumsfeld

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 16, 2003

US Asks for NATO Military Support: Rumsfeld

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the United States has formally requested NATO to provide military support in possible US military actions against Iraq.

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US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the United States has formally requested NATO to provide military support in possible US military actions against Iraq.

"It does take time to plan, and just as we're planning with individual countries, it seemed appropriate, to the extent NATO wished to, to begin that planning process," Rumsfeld said at a regular new briefing.

Rumsfeld said the US request, taken up by NATO in Brussels earlier Wednesday, included AWACS, force protection and other support.

But the secretary stressed that President George W. Bush has made no decision on whether to use force to disarm Iraq.

He urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm, suggesting that a US war with Iraq is not inevitable.

"We continue to hope that the regime will change course and that Iraq will disarm peacefully and voluntarily," Rumsfeld said.

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