WHAT OTHER CHOICE DID THEY HAVE?:

U.S. and European Union Pledge Support for Iraq (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/26/04)

The United States and the European Union offered strong support for Iraq's urgent request for NATO military help Saturday. ``NATO has the capability and I believe the responsibility to help the Iraqi people defeat the terrorist threat that's facing their country,'' President Bush said.

"I think the bitter differences of the war are over,'' Bush said at the close of a U.S.-European Union summit. "There is a common interest and a common goal to help the Iraqi people.''

The United States and the European Union agreed in a joint statement to back Iraq's urgent request for NATO military and support the training of Iraqi security forces, and to reduce Iraq's international debt, estimated to be $120 billion.