STOCKHOLM, Dec. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The Norwegian Government wants tocontribute up to 20 military instructors to the NATO force in Iraq,Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported on Wednesday.

    However, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik made it clear in Parliament that the officers will only serve as administrative personnel.

    "The Norwegian officers will not in any way participate in the planning of or carrying out of military operations. It would be positive if Norway could support Iraq in its building up of military forces which are founded on International Law and humanitarian values," Bondevik said.

    The Government will probably have a majority in Parliament for its proposal to send troops to Iraq, with the support of the Progress Party and the Agrarians. The Labor Party and the Socialist Left are critical of the plan.

    Meanwhile, head of the Norwegian Parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, has accused the United States of carrying out a war in Iraq which is pushing away its allies both within NATO and in the region.

    Jagland made the statement during a debate in Parliament over the Government's proposal to send instructors to the NATO force inIraq.

    NATO has requested the participation, but Jagland is opposed tothe plan. "The US must not throw suspicion on this stand as anti-NATO-behavior and depict nearly half the defense alliance as hostile to NATO," Jagland said in his speech, which was strongly critical of US Iraq policy.

    "It is time the US begin to listen to others, particularly to its allies," Jagland said. Enditem