Brussels
NATO has defused its nastiest internal spat in decades by bypassing the French. France, Germany, and Belgium had initially refused to participate in drafting plans to defend fellow NATO member Turkey in case of war with Iraq. They argued that planning for the war was tantamount to endorsing it. The dispute was resolved by allowing the military staff of the NATO Defense Planning Council, which does not include France, to make plans for Turkey’s defense. Germany and Belgium then dropped their opposition, and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson announced that “solidarity has prevailed.” The three countries reiterated, though, that they were still opposed to a war in Iraq, unless it got U.N. approval.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
World’s oldest rock art discovered in IndonesiaUnder the Radar Ancient handprint on Sulawesi cave wall suggests complexity of thought, challenging long-held belief that human intelligence erupted in Europe
-
Claude Code: the viral AI coding app making a splash in techThe Explainer Engineers and noncoders alike are helping the app go viral
