Event Summary
At this second in the weekly series of briefings by the Brookings Institution on the confrontation with Iraq, the panel of Brookings experts will discuss the sharp split between the United States and some of its closest allies over whether or when to go to war to disarm Saddam Hussein.
France and Germany have voiced strong opposition to launching a war without giving United Nations inspectors more time to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Russia also has indicated its opposition. President Bush has said the United States would act alone, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein.
Additionally, France, Germany, and Belgium are balking at making contingency plans for NATO to come to the aid of Turkey, a member of the organization, in case it is threatened by Iraq in any war. This is turning into one of the most divisive splits in NATO's 50-year history.