BRUSSELS, Feb 22 (AFP) - NATO on Tuesday trumpted an accord to staff and fund a training mission in Iraq, a move welcomed by US President George W. Bush in town to drum up support for sharing the burden in the war-scarred country.
NATO leaders saluted the "enormous courage" of Iraqis who voted massively in elections last month, saying the US-led alliance now has a duty to help them further, whatever their past differences.
"We are united in our commitment to support them and their newly-elected government in their effort to build an inclusive democracy and secure nation," they said in a joint statement.
"All 26 allies are contributing to the NATO mission to assist in training Iraqi security forces, to hasten the day when they can take full responsibility for the stability of the country," they added.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed last June to launch the mission, but has struggled to mount the operation notably amid reluctance by states opposed to the 2003 Iraq war to get involved on the ground.
Until recently NATO had barely 100 NATO trainers and support staff in Bagdhad, compared to the 300 trainers originally pledged. Alliance officials insist that number will be reached eventually.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has set Tuesday's summit as a target by when he wanted all 26 countries to assist the Iraq mission either by training Iraqi forces inside Iraq, outside or Iraq or by providing funding.
Germany is providing training to Iraqi officers in the United Arab Emirates, and France has offered to train police in Qatar, although it has been unclear whether this counted as part of the NATO mission.
French President Jacques Chirac in a short speech to the summit signalled that France was willing to take part in the NATO mission to train Iraqi security forces.
His office said France would offer up to two million euros (2.6 million dollars) for the training programme this year, which has been a source of contention between advocates and opponents to the war in Iraq.
Bush, at a joint press conference with de Hoop Scheffer after the summit, thanked his NATO allies for backing the Iraq operation, which he said was "an important mission" to help bring democracy to the violence-wracked country.
"NATO is providing a training mission which is vital ... every country should be proud of the fact that they are contributing to the world's newest democracy," Bush said.
"It's in our interests, it's in your country's interests to let democracy take hold in Iraq."
The US leader also unapologetically defended the war in Iraq and urged European leaders angered by that decision to help "put that behind us" and work with him.
"We liberated Iraq, and that decision has been made, it's over with, and now it's time to unify for the sake of peace," Bush told reporters.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed Bush's welcome for the NATO agreement.
"Whatever the differences we've had over the war, there is now a willingess, a new willingness, following the Iraqi elections to help the new Iraqi government."
"A line has been drawn over the differences of the past, and there is a common consensus on supporting the new Iraqi government, whenever that is formed," he added.

02/22/2005 15:01 GMT - AFP