Bush says he envisions NATO's wider participation

The U.S. president met with Iraq's interim president.
SEA ISLAND, Ga. (AP) -- President Bush, hoping to build on momentum from a U.N. Security Council victory on Iraq, said today that he envisions a wider role for NATO in post-occupation Iraq.
Standing alongside his top ally in the war in Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush noted that many NATO nations already are part of the coalition in Iraq and he hoped to "expand it a bit."
The United States and its biggest allies are proclaiming that Tuesday's unanimous U.N. vote will heal their bitter divisions over Iraq.
Terrorists now "know they have the whole world against them," Blair said.
Some 15 NATO nations have forces in Iraq.
Asked if he envisioned a larger role for NATO, Bush said he did. "I think NATO ought to stay involved, and I think we have a good chance of getting it done," Bush said.
The participation
Bush did not elaborate, but administration officials said that the United States would like to see NATO get involved in training the new Iraqi army, in addition to having NATO members currently in Iraq remain there.
Bush and Blair met for a private session before today's first business session of the Group of Eight major industrial powers. Bush drove Blair to their meeting at an exclusive resort on Sea Island in a modernistic, electric, golf-cart sized car emblazoned with the red, white and blue colors of the U.S. flag.
Bush was touting the success on Iraq in a one-on-one meeting with the new interim Iraqi president, Ghazi al-Yawer, on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit.
"I'm going to tell him we're pulling for him," Bush told reporters.
Bush also said he would tell the Iraqi president that he and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi "must make wise decisions on behalf of the Iraqi people."
He said he would emphasize to al-Yawer that "he is the president of a sovereign nation."
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