French defence minister holds talks with US officials

(16 Jan 2004) 1. French Minister of Defence Michelle Alliot-Marie arriving to an honour cordon at the Pentagon and being greeted by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld STORYLINE: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld hosted an honour cordon to welcome French Minister of Defence Michelle Alliot-Marie to the Pentagon on Thursday. The French defence minister said on Thursday that France, Germany and Japan could work together closely to train Iraq's police and soldiers once Iraqis have control of their government. Alliot-Marie spoke after meeting with her Japanese counterpart in Europe, and later headed to Washington for talks with Rumsfeld and White House national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. France, a leading critic of US plans to invade Iraq, has not sent troops but has offered to train Iraqi police after the US-led coalition hands power to an Iraqi transitional government on July 1. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...