Powell not expecting further troop donations

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says he does not expect the UN vote on post-war Iraq will lead to an influx of foreign troops…

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says he does not expect the UN vote on post-war Iraq will lead to an influx of foreign troops.

"I don't see this resolution as opening the door to troops," Mr Powell told reporters soon after the UN Security Council gave unanimous approval to the Iraq resolution.

But he said he hoped the vote on Iraq's future would help countries already interested in sending troops to Iraq.

"We will now be in contact with those countries to see what additional elements they need," he said, without specifying which countries might be interested in providing military help in Iraq, where more than 130,000 US troops are based.

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The UN resolution creates a UN-authorised multinational force in Iraq under US leadership in an effort to recruit troops from Pakistan and other nations wary of serving the occupation.

At the Pentagon, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hailed the passage of the resolution and said it should boost US efforts to convince other countries to contribute troops to serve in Iraq.

He said the United States was in talks with five to seven countries over sending troops to Iraq.

Mr Powell said he was hopeful that the vote would encourage countries attending the Iraq donors conference in Madrid next week to give more to help rebuild that shattered country.

Foreign nations, particularly traditional allies such as France and Germany, have refused to help the US military effort in Iraq after the White House decided to invade the country without UN support.