U.S. Offers U.N. Resolution Deal
Thu Oct 17,11:49 AM ET
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Facing strong opposition from dozens of nations, the
United States has backed down from its demand that a new U.N. resolution
must authorize military force if Baghdad fails to cooperate with weapons
inspectors, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Instead, the United States is now floating a
compromise which would give inspectors a chance to
test Iraq's will to cooperate on the ground. If Iraq then
failed to disarm, the Bush administration would agree
to return to the Security Council for further debate
and possibly another resolution authorizing action.
The new compromise also drops tough wording
explicitly threatening Iraq upfront, although the
diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said a threat of consequences will be implied.
The diplomats said France, which has been the main
stumbling block for the United States, was studying
the new offer amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed
at solving an impasse among the Security Council
powers on Iraq.
During an open Security Council debate on Iraq,
which started Wednesday and continued Thursday,
more than two dozen nations — including Iraq's
closest neighbors and key U.S. allies — refused to
endorse the Bush administration's demand for an
authorization of military force if Baghdad fails to
cooperate with U.N. weapons inspections.
They said Iraq must be given a chance to completely
disarm without the imminent threat of military action.
Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of Britain, whose
country is supporting the U.S. position, said the emphasis was on reaching a
deal that all sides could accept.
"We're looking for unity in the council," he said.
Many U.N. members favor the two-resolution approach proposed by France and
backed by Russia and China.
Under the French approach, the first resolution would toughen U.N. inspections
and warn Iraq that it will face consequences, including the possible use of force,
if it doesn't comply with inspections. The second would authorize action against
Iraq if it failed to cooperate.
"Every possible effort should be made to avert war," Bangladesh's U.N.
Ambassador Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told the council on Thursday.
In speech after speech, ambassadors from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and
Latin America called Iraq's decision last month to allow U.N. inspectors to
return an important first step — and said the council should send the inspectors
back quickly and test Baghdad's commitment.
Many warned that a new war would add to the suffering of the Iraqi people,
possibly engulf the Middle East in conflict, and have dire consequences on
global stability and the world economy.
"This war is useless because its motives are not well-founded," Tunisia's U.N.
Ambassador Noureddine Mejdoub said Wednesday. "It would unleash a chain
of reactions in Iraq and in the region."
The council meeting was held at the behest of the Nonaligned Movement,
comprising 115 mainly developing countries that favor a peaceful solution in
Iraq, and it was open to all 191 U.N. member states. Some 50 nations that
aren't on the council took up the opportunity, and they were speaking ahead of
the 15 council members who will wrap up the debate on Thursday.
Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri was pleased at the opposition to
military action and support for the return of inspectors in Wednesday's
speeches. He said he expected to hear more of the same on Thursday.
Reiterating that Iraq would cooperate with the U.N. inspectors "in every possible
way," al-Douri told the council that the United States was attempting "to
hamper and delay the return of inspectors" to adopt a new resolution which
would serve as "a pretext to cover aggression against Iraq."
Since the 1980s, Iraq has gone to war with two of its neighbors — Iran and
Kuwait — but neither supported an immediate authorization to use force. Both
urged the Iraqi government to strictly comply with all U.N. resolutions to avert
war.
"Any use of force must be a last resort and within the United Nations (news -
web sites) framework and only after all other available means have been
exhausted," said Kuwait's Ambassador Mohammad Abulhasan.
Several U.S. allies — the European Union (news - web sites), Canada,
Australia and New Zealand — backed the U.S. view that after 11 years of failing
to comply with U.N. resolutions, Iraq should be given a tough new mandate
spelling out that inspectors must have unconditional and unrestricted access to
all sites.
However, none of the allies called for a new resolution to include a green light
for military action.
Denmark's U.N. Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj, speaking on behalf of the
EU, said: "The government of Iraq should make no mistake about the fact that
noncompliance with this inspection regime would have serious consequences." |
