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Bush wins NATO help to train Iraqi forces
Tuesday, February 22, 2005 Posted: 10:07 AM EST (1507 GMT)

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO leaders agreed Tuesday to help the United States train Iraqi forces, President Bush said at the latest stop on his three-nation tour of Europe.

Despite disagreements between some Americans and Europeans about the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, members of the military alliance are looking to the future, the president said.

"Twenty-six nations sat around the table saying, 'Let's get the past behind us and now let's focus on helping the world's newest democracy succeed,' " Bush said during a post-summit news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Scheffer added, "It was an excellent summit."

Training Iraqi military and police forces is seen as a key component to reducing the 150,000 U.S. troops deployed in Iraq.

"The NATO training mission is an important mission because after all, the success of Iraq depends upon the capacity and the willingness of the Iraqis to defend their own selves against terrorists," Bush said.

Many NATO countries have sent personnel or financial aid to train Iraqi security forces, but some -- such as France -- have refused to participate in training inside Iraq and have offered to train Iraqis outside the country.

In Iraq, the nation's main Shiite Muslim political coalition on Tuesday named its choice for Iraq's next prime minister, an Iraqi political official said. The United Iraqi Alliance's nominee, Dawa Party leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari, has opposed the early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. (Full story)

Earlier Tuesday, Bush met separately with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, new Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Speaking after their talks, Bush and Blair emphasized the importance of trans-Atlantic ties following rifts over the Iraq war.

Bush praised the British leader. "A strong Europe is very important for the United States and I really meant that. The prime minister is one of the strong leaders in Europe," he said.

Blair returned the compliment: "The president set out very clearly a way forward on the Middle East process. There is a renewed sense of vigor and optimism."

Blair also said there was a chance for a stable, prosperous and democratic Iraq.

Besides Belgium, Bush's fence-mending mission to Europe also will include stops in Germany and Slovakia.

The president is set to meet with virtually every major political figure on the continent. On Monday, he dined with French President Jacques Chirac and is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

Chirac -- a strong critic of Bush's Iraq policy -- and the U.S. president held what was later described as an "extremely cordial" dinner meeting.

The two leaders insisted that the Franco-American partnership remains strong despite frayed feelings over Iraq.

"This is my first dinner since I've been re-elected on European soil, and it's with Jacques Chirac -- and that ought to say something," Bush said Monday as he headed into their get-together at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Brussels.

"It ought to say how important this relationship is for me personally and how important this relationship is for my country."

Chirac said the relationship between France and the United States was based on "common values that we share, and these things don't change overnight, with the wave of a wand."

"Now, of course, that doesn't mean that because we share common values, we necessarily agree on everything all the time," the French leader said. "But this in no way affects, or in no way undermines, the bedrock of our relations -- namely our common values and our common vision."

In the struggle against weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, Chirac said that "we have the same approach."

Asked if relations were strong enough that the French leader would be invited to his Texas ranch, Bush joked: "I'm looking for a good cowboy."

A senior administration official said the meeting between Bush and Chirac ran longer than expected and covered such issues as Iraq, Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Syrian occupation of Lebanon and a European Union initiative to lift an arms embargo on China.

Goal is Mideast peace
In a televised address Monday, Bush called for the U.S.-European rifts of recent years to be put in the past.

"Today, America and Europe face a moment of consequence and opportunity," the president said.

"Together, we can once again set history on a hopeful course, away from poverty and despair and toward development and the dignity of self-rule; away from resentment and violence and toward justice and the peaceful settlement of differences."

He added, "As past debates fade, as great duties become clear, let us begin a new era of trans-Atlantic unity." (Transcript)

"Our greatest opportunity, and our immediate goal, is peace in the Middle East," Bush said, adding that "lasting successful reform in the Middle East will not be imposed from the outside. It must be chosen from within."

Syria told to leave Lebanon
He also called on Syria to "end its occupation of Lebanon," saying "the Lebanese people have the right to be free." (Anti-Syria protest in Beirut)

"The United States and Europe share an interest in a democratic, independent Lebanon," he said.

He urged European leaders to support U.S. efforts to end what the Bush administration describes as a nuclear threat from Iran.

He also called for democratic reforms in Iran. "The time has arrived for the Iranian regime to listen to the Iranian people and respect their rights and join in the movement toward liberty that is taking place all around them."

Bush asked European countries to place democratic reform "at the heart of their dialogue with Russia."

"We recognize that reform will not happen overnight," he said. "We must always remind Russia, however, that our alliance stands for a free press, a vital opposition, the sharing of power and the rule of law."