NATO head says forces up to task

BERLIN -- General James Jones, the NATO military commander, said yesterday that if the alliance is asked to play a peacekeeping role in Lebanon, it would be up to the job, despite its commitment to relieve US-led forces in Afghanistan.

There is opposition from some countries, including France and Germany, to a North Atlantic Treaty Organization force that might be called to support the Lebanese Army in policing a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.

Paris and Berlin have said they believed NATO would be too closely identified with the United States and would not be trusted by the Lebanese to be impartial.

Nevertheless, Jones, who is also the commander of all US troops in Europe, said, ``NATO could go in."

``It would depend on consensus," he said in a telephone interview. NATO has a lot of capacity, he said.