France calls for UN force in Iraq

The French foreign minister today called for the deployment of a UN-run international force in Iraq, arguing that merely increasing troops under US and British control would not be enough.

Dominique de Villepin, a strident opponent of the invasion of Iraq, also called for the establishment of a provisional government in Baghdad backed up by the United Nations.

“It does not suffice to deploy more troops, more technical and financial means,” de Villepin said in Paris. “We need a real change in approach.”

The United States so far has resisted calls for a commanding US role in Iraq, arguing instead for a Security Council resolution to reinforce UN support for additional foreign forces in Iraq.

There are signs, however, that Washington might be willing to go along with a UN endorsed multinational force in Iraq if it is headed by an American commander.

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage acknowledged that the idea is one of many being weighed by the administration.

France argued hard in the months before the war that the invasion was not justified. Since the end of the war, Paris has said it would only contribute troops to a UN sanctioned international force.

“For our country, the arrangement that will eventually be taken cannot simply be an enlargement or adjustment of the present occupation forces,” de Villepin said. “It’s a matter of putting in place a real international force under the mandate of the Security Council.”