Foto: Ole Berthelsen

Petersen criticized journalists and politicians who spent their time discussing why it was wrong to go to war and the mistakes that were committed in the war, in a lecture regarding Norwegian security policy at Oslo Militære Samfund Monday.

«I say that we have to be able to post the question loud and clear: Is it or is it not benefit for us that Prime Minister Allawi and the Iraq government succeed?» Petersen asked. «There are many unclear and vague attitudes in Norwegian politics as well.»

He stressed that there is a consensus in Norway that the US did not have a basis for going to war, and the US sceptics should rather address what have to be done in Iraq today.

«They have to deal with being asked why they have not asked this question,» Petersen said to TV 2 Nettavisen. «There is no basis to misunderstand things as gravely as the radical commentators have done. They can not stop by asking only two of three important questions.»

Petersen said clearly that this question was also directed to the opposition at the Norwegian parliament.

«I have challenged the Socialist Left party and the Agricultural party at Stortinget on several occasions, and asked “what do we do now?”» Petersen said.

Petersen said that now the focus had to be directed on the election in Iraq in January to ensure that it is carried out as planned.

Friction
In his talk, Petersen stressed that close trans-Atlantic ties are crucial in order to meet new challenges in security policies like terror threats and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

«We want to build on that regardless of what kind of administration is elected,» Petersen stated.

He admitted that the relation to the US had become strained since President Bush took office, also before the Iraq war.

«I’m not going to hide the fact that I view with concern some developments during the last couple of years, which obviously have contributed to create friction across the Atlantic,» Petersen said, and he mentioned the Bush administration’s no to the Kyoto agreement and the International Criminal Court, acting alone in several trade cases and the US’s attitude to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

Oversimplify
Petersen criticised Norwegian media for its oversimplified critic of the US, and claimed that the distance between Bush and Kofi Annan during the meeting of UN’s General Assembly in September was not as large as Norwegian press indicated.

«Maybe one should break free from putting everything into a “for or against Bush” perspective,» Petersen concluded. «Both Annan’s and Bush’s speeches had many other perspectives that could be useful to think about.»