Kerry calls for UN, Nato role in Iraq

The United States "must make the United Nations a full partner" in the Iraqi transition and renew its efforts "to attract international support in the form of boots on the ground to create a climate of security in Iraq", Kerry said in written commentary published Tuesday in The Washington Post.

"We should urge Nato to create a new out-of-area operation for Iraq under the lead of a US commander. This would help us obtain more troops from major powers," Kerry added.

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To overcome foreign reluctance to put their troops at risk in Iraq, Kerry said, "international acceptance of responsibility for stabilizing Iraq must be matched by international authority for managing the remainder of the Iraqi transition".

"The United Nations, not the United States, should be the primary civilian partner in working with Iraqi leaders to hold elections, restore government services, rebuild the economy and re-create a sense of hope and optimism among the Iraqi people," he added.

Kerry urged Bush to rally the US "around a clear and credible goal".

He called on the Bush administration to dispel the confusion over US goals in Iraq, where the situation in the past week had "taken a dramatic turn for the worse".

Kerry criticized the White House's insistence on a June 30 deadline for handing over sovereignty to an Iraqi authority, when "there is no agreement ... on how it will be constituted to make it representative enough to have popular legitimacy".

"Because of the way the White House has run the war, we are left with the United States bearing most of the costs and risks associated with every aspect of the Iraqi transition," Kerry said.

"We have lost lives, time, momentum and credibility," he added.

Kerry urged a response to US commanders' request for more troops, saying progress in Iraq depended on providing security to its people.