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Reuters
http://www.reuters.com
Wed May 21, 2003

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO ambassadors agreed unanimously Wednesday to provide Poland with the logistical support it sought in running a "stabilization zone" in Iraq.

"The (North Atlantic) council has unanimously decided today to task NATO military authorities to provide advice as soon as possible on the Polish request for NATO support to Poland," NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters.

The U.S.-led war in Iraq badly divided the 19-nation alliance, but member states are keen to mend their frayed relations and are expected to respond to Poland's call for logistical support.

Washington has offered Poland leadership of a 7,000-strong multinational force to keep peace in a quarter of Iraq -- between Baghdad and Basra -- to reward it for backing the campaign that deposed President Saddam Hussein.

The Poles plan to hold a "troop-pledging" conference, to be attended by senior military representatives, in Warsaw on Thursday and Friday where they aim to disclose the composition of their stabilization force for mid and southern Iraq.

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Direct Link:
--http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2784437

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