Canada bails.Attack on Iraq not justified now, Canada says
By David Ljunggren
alertnet.org
OTTAWA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The United States would have no justification for attacking Iraq now because U.N. inspectors have not had enough time to probe for weapons of mass destruction, Canada said on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Bill Graham told CBC television he sided with France and Germany, which have both irritated Washington by insisting war must be the last option on the table.
"I agree with the French and German analysis that at this particular time, we couldn't justify a war," he said.
"But that doesn't mean no war would ever be justified if the U.N. was satisfied that in fact there were conditions there that Iraq was resisting in trying to develop a capacity for weapons of mass destruction."
Paris and Berlin said the inspectors under Dr. Hans Blix might need several months to complete their work. Blix is due to deliver an interim report to the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 27.
"We're going to have to wait until Jan. 27. Hear Dr. Blix, let him do his job, force Iraq to conform to the inspections regime. It's biting, it's working, let's keep the pressure on them through that regime," said Graham.
Next week Graham is due to fly to Washington for talks on Iraq with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Polls show a vast majority of Canadians oppose the idea of backing a U.S.-led attack on Iraq without U.N. authorization. Graham said Ottawa had not changed its view that an attack on Iraq must be sanctioned by the United Nations.
"Ultimately, if there is a conflict, it must be a conflict that is undertaken by the world," he said.
"Otherwise the risk of destabilizing the Middle East and creating enmities between the West and other countries becomes insurmountable and a terrible additional problem for us."
U.S. President George W. Bush is expressing impatience with his allies' hesitancy over an intervention in Iraq amid increasing speculation about an imminent attack, timed to avoid the hottest part of the year.
"Everyone knows there's a preferable window for action in that area but that doesn't mean an attack is imminent or is going to happen without U.N. approval," said Graham, speaking ahead of a full-day cabinet session at which Iraq is likely to be a main agenda topic.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien said last week that Canada would stick by the United Nations but declined to answer questions as to whether there were any circumstances under which Canadian troops might join a unilateral U.S. attack. |
