France, Germany and Belgium split NATO yesterday by blocking a plan to boost Turkish defenses in case of a US-led war on Iraq -- an action Washington said threw the alliance's credibility into question.
The three NATO rebels, trying to slow the rush to war, say moves to defend Turkey would signal that a conflict had begun. Turkey, which borders Iraq, promptly invoked NATO's founding treaty to seek consultations for the defense of its territory.
The division in NATO over whether to use diplomacy or go to war to make Iraq disarm opened wide as chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix said he saw no new evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in papers Baghdad gave him at the weekend.
"This time they presented some papers to us in which they focused upon new issues. Not new evidence really as far as I can see, but they have nevertheless focused on real open issues and that is welcome," Blix said on arriving in Athens from Baghdad.
In Brussels, France, Germany and Belgium blocked proposals to start planning for the deployment of AWACS surveillance planes, Patriot missiles and anti-chemical and anti-biological warfare teams to Turkey.
Turkey responded by invoking NATO's Article IV, which says "parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence of security of any of the parties is threatened."
The Turkish move came at a meeting of NATO ambassadors at alliance headquarters.
The US ambassador to NATO denounced what he called "a most unfortunate decision by three allies to prevent NATO from assisting the legitimate defense needs of Turkey," which fears reprisals if US forces invade Iraq from its territory.
"Because of their actions, NATO is now facing a crisis of credibility," the envoy, Nicholas Burns, said.
`A disgrace'
Anticipating the blocking move, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier denounced it as "a disgrace." He said in an interview with eight European newspapers the countries behind it would be "judged by their own people and the other members of the [NATO] alliance."
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson called the deadlock "very serious" but said a solution could be at hand. Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis called it a dispute over timing and predicted the blocking countries would fall into line.
Europe has been deeply divided over US threats to attack Iraq within the next few weeks unless Baghdad declares its alleged chemical, biological and nuclear arms programs.
Britain, backed by Italy, Spain, Portugal and new NATO members from eastern Europe, has supported the tough US line.
UN awaiting
key report
The diplomatic pace is quickening ahead of a key report that Blix and his fellow inspection chief Mohamed ElBaradei will make to the UN Security Council on Friday on Baghdad's cooperation with arms inspectors in Iraq. That report, if negative, could hasten the countdown to war.
Blix said in Athens that Iraq had suggested new methods of investigation, including drilling into the ground, to better prove it does not have weapons of mass destruction.
"They themselves suggested new physical signs, new methods of investigating whether material they declared unilaterally destroyed, whether it was actually there. They will be drilling into the ground," Blix said.
Blix also rejected European suggestions that more inspectors would help his hunt. "The principal problem is not the number of inspectors but rather the active cooperation of the Iraqi side," he said.
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