France considering security role in Iraq: FM

France considering security role in Iraq: FM


PARIS (AFP) - France is considering a possible role in Iraq (news - web sites) to help bolster security in the war-torn country once sovereignty has been fully handed over to the Iraqi people, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.

"We are already working on the possibility of responding in the area of security, in particular through the creation of a school for gendarmes or by training police," de Villepin said in his New Year's greetings to the press.


"We'll see what the Iraqi authorities are asking for in terms of security" once sovereignty has been handed over in June, the minister said.


"We will clarify our position once a government has been formed in Iraq," he added.


But de Villepin was firm in saying the idea of sending French troops to Iraq was "not currently on the table."


"For us, the issue of the current political void is at the heart of the Iraqi question," the French foreign minister told reporters.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040116/wl_afp/france_iraq_security&cid=1512&ncid=1473

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