* EU record, Afghan role support Rasmussen candidacy * Mohammad cartoon row seen as a drawback * Pole, Norwegian, Briton, Canadian also in frame By Gelu Sulugiuc COPENHAGEN, March 10 (Reuters) - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is emerging as a front-runner to be the next head of NATO, based on his track record of backing alliance efforts in Afghanistan and crafting European Union deals. A senior NATO source said Rasmussen had the backing of three European heavyweights, Germany, Britain and France, for the post of alliance secretary general, though the United States was considering backing Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay. Other contenders for a post which normally goes to a European include Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and former British Defence Secretary Des Browne. NATO diplomats say one drawback could be Denmark's ambiguous image in the Muslim world following the furore over publication of Danish newspaper cartoons in 2006 that depicted the Prophet Mohammad, including one showing him with a bomb in his turban. Rasmussen refused to apologise for the cartoons that sparked riots and attacks on Danish embassies in several Muslim countries. The NATO source said that alliance member Turkey, which is predominantly Muslim, had voiced some misgivings and it would take a strong U.S. endorsement to bring them into line. Among the considerations facing alliance leaders is that an East European candidate could antagonise Moscow, while Norway's non-EU status could place it at a disadvantage. Canada's MacKay declined on Monday to rule himself out, saying nationality should not be a bar. The United States echoed MacKay's argument, but said it has yet to decide who to back. "It is a very strong field," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a news conference at NATO on Tuesday. "We do not think that as a matter of policy any member nation should be ruled out as being able to provide a secretary-general, but we have not taken a position on who should be the successor." "COMPETENT AND FOCUSED" The NATO source said a key indication would be whether Rasmussen got an invitation to the White House in coming weeks. Rasmussen has the reputation of a competent and focused leader who gets things done. In 2003, when Denmark held the EU presidency, he hammered out a deal on membership for 10 new states, mostly from ex-communist Eastern Europe. "Denmark has been a stalwart ally and he'd bring leadership to the organisation," said Daniel Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University in the United States. "Much of the job is getting consensus among NATO allies and he seems to be able to do that." Rasmussen would also likely steer NATO to work more closely with the EU and the United Nations In office since 2001, the 56-year-old Rasmussen backed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, sent Danish troops there and has urged NATO members to send more forces to Afghanistan, where Denmark has some 750 soldiers fighting the Taliban. A fluent French speaker who regularly holidays in France and likes to tackle Tour de France routes on his bike, he is seen as an acceptable choice for France, which is expected soon to rejoin NATO's command structure. Current secretary general, Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer steps down on July 31 and NATO may pick a new leader as early as April 3-4 at a summit marking the alliance's 60th anniversary. (Additional reporting by Kim McLaughlin in Copenhagen, Sophie Hardach and Paul Taylor in Paris and David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Former Taliban soldiers display their weapons during a ceremony in the western city of Herat March 10, 2009. Forty Taliban fighters surrendered to the government on Tuesday, according to local authorities. ...
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