Bush, Chirac Pledge to Cooperate on Iraq

President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac pledged Saturday to work together to help rebuild Iraq, but they continued to remain at odds, as Chirac called the situation “extremely precarious” while Bush claimed major progress toward a free and democratic country.

The leaders sought to emphasize their common ground as they prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-day invasion, one of the moments when the United States and France were closest. But their ongoing differences over Iraq were clearly evident.

During a joint news conference, Chirac said he was pleased that the “tyrannical regime” of Saddam Hussein was gone, but added: “What’s less positive is that there is a degree of chaos prevailing.”

The French president again took issue with Bush’s justification for the invasion of Iraq, which Bush often compares to the liberation of Europe 60 years ago. “History does not repeat itself, and it is very difficult to compare historical situations that differ,” Chirac said.

Bush said he appreciated the discussions with Chirac and took a conciliatory tone.

“The Iraqi people want and deserve freedom, peace and prosperity, and the nations of the world have a responsibility to help them achieve that,” Bush said. “Members of the U.N. Security Council are working with Iraq’s new leaders toward a new resolution that will express international support for Iraq’s interim government, that will reaffirm the world’s security commitment to the Iraqi nation, and encourage other U.N. members to help in joining the Iraqi people as they establish a representative government.”

As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, France could veto any resolution on Iraq. Chirac pointedly withheld his endorsement of an emerging draft resolution, to be presented to the Security Council, that would formalize international recognition of the new interim Iraqi government. But at their private dinner, Chirac told Bush that he believed the Security Council would eventually unanimously adopt the final language of the resolution, a senior Bush administration official said.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet today to discuss a new version of the resolution that would give Iraq’s interim government the right to ask the multinational force to leave at any time -- a significant concession by the U.S. and Britain, made with the hope that the incoming leaders won’t use it. The council will also discuss an exchange of letters between Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the U.S. command outlining the parameters of security cooperation in Iraq.

The letters, according to a copy made available to The Times, address the intent to consult and coordinate on “fundamental security and policy issues ... [and] on sensitive offensive operations.” The letters also note that Iraq would maintain control over its forces and police, but not multinational troops. Nor would Iraq have jurisdiction over American or other troops that violate local or international laws.

Iraq has been a key issue during Bush’s European tour. The administration had hoped to smooth relations with long-standing allies who opposed last year’s invasion and the current bloody occupation.

Yet, within hours in two major European capitals, Paris and Rome, Bush’s presence highlighted less a sense of common purpose than a lingering transatlantic discord that threatens to undermine international efforts to rebuild Iraq.

Until now, much of that friction had been cloaked in diplomatic niceties. At a minimum, the leaders have insisted that past disagreements are history and that it is time to move on.

But the festering tensions surfaced during a news conference by Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in effect pitting them against Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Chirac had worked with Schroeder to block Bush’s intentions to invade Iraq.

More recently, Chirac further antagonized Bush by including Schroeder, but pointedly snubbing Berlusconi, when asking leaders to attend today’s ceremonies. Schroeder promptly accepted, arguing that the invasion helped free Germany from the Nazi regime.

Thus, in a show of solidarity with Berlusconi, Bush scrubbed a stop in England and instead went to Rome.

When asked at their joint news conference about the French snub, Berlusconi said that he was pleased to have the company of Bush to himself, in Rome, rather than in the company of world leaders in France.

“It was much more valuable to have just for Italy, only for Rome and for us, a representative of the American people -- rather than being part of one celebration where there are going to be 17 prime ministers,” Berlusconi said. “So I’d rather have him here, alone, than going there, one of 17.”

The lingering bad feelings are not surprising, said Charles A. Kupchan, director of European studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

The current U.S. and French leaders lack the deep, personal ties that their predecessors enjoyed, and they bring a different set of attitudes -- driven in part by a maturation of the European Union, he said. In addition, Kupchan said, Bush’s policies and tones have “set Europe on edge.”

At the news conference, Chirac took issue with reports about a deterioration of the U.S.-French alliance, saying that “some comments don’t reflect reality.” But such reassurance did little to mask the underlying tensions that have exacerbated the transatlantic estrangement between the U.S. and many Europeans, who increasingly see the U.S. as militaristic and bullying overseas and puritanical and materialistic at home.

In a survey published in Le Figaro newspaper, 88% named Germany as France’s best ally -- remarkable considering their history of warfare. The poll also found that Britain was designated France’s most reliable ally by 63% of those polled. The United States, which 10 years ago ranked first in a similar survey, came in third.

French officials had predicted that the war would worsen, not reduce, Islamic terrorism and instability in the Middle East. They now say the aftermath has proved them right. In contrast to the United States, French intelligence officials insist that the Al Qaeda-related networks now involved in car-bomb attacks and other violence in Iraq were not there before the war and did not have an alliance with Hussein.

French intelligence officials worry that Iraq has become a “land of jihad” like Afghanistan and Chechnya before it, and that the turmoil is drawing Islamists to Iraq from Europe and especially North Africa. The violence, they said, is worsening hatred of the West in the Muslim world and making recruitment by extremist networks easier.

In both Italy and France, Bush found himself on the defensive over the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. In Paris, Bush said he was personally “humiliated, as was most of my country” by the accounts and photographs of U.S. troops abusing Iraqi prisoners.

The leaders also said they would cooperate in seeking a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Mideast will be discussed at this week’s summit by the Group of 8 industrialized countries at Sea Island, Ga.

Despite the rejection of Bush and his foreign policy by France, the number of demonstrators who turned out Saturday to chant slogans against Bush and the war in Iraq was a relatively modest 10,000 to 25,000 protesters, police said. The turnout appeared to confirm the predictions that many would avoid anti-American rallies out of respect for the D-day anniversary.

Moreover, nationwide marches earlier in the day against proposed changes in the French healthcare system appeared to dilute the strength of the antiwar activists; protests on pocketbook issues tend to draw bigger crowds in France.

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Times staff writer Maggie Farley in New York contributed to this report.