U.S. Dismisses Iraqi Offer, Continues Deployment
Fri Feb 28, 2:13 AM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Bernie Woodall and Will Dunham
UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States dismissed Baghdad's agreement to destroy its al-Samoud 2 missiles and pressed on with its war preparations against Iraq, deploying a sixth aircraft carrier and B-2 stealth bombers.
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As U.N. Security Council members argued bitterly about whether to approve a war with Iraq, Baghdad said it agreed "in principle" to begin destroying its ballistic missiles, which the United Nations said were illegal because their range exceeded limits set in 1991 U.N. resolutions.
The government of President Saddam Hussein gave its decision on the missiles by letter to chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix as he completed a crucial report to the council that criticized Iraq for giving a "very limited" response to its disarmament obligations.
Blix, in a leaked draft of a report expected to reach council members over the weekend or on Monday, said that results of three months of inspections had been problematic.
"Iraq could have made greater efforts to find any remaining proscribed items or provide credible evidence showing the absence of such items," Blix wrote. "The results in terms of disarmament have been very limited so far."
The Security Council's first meeting since the introduction of a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution that laid the legal ground work for war erupted into chaos. In addition to known opposition to the resolution by France and Russia, smaller nations demanded the big powers reach a common position.
But no one budged. "There are two propositions," said French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere. "One says we have to go to war. The other says 'no."'
The meeting became so divisive that members could not agree whether Blix should address the council on March 6 or 7.
Hours after the report was leaked, Iraq said it agreed to start destroying its al-Samoud 2 missiles, as Blix as ordered, because they were illegal by exceeding the permitted 90-mile range.
In a letter to Blix, Iraq said it accepted "in principle" the destruction of the missiles. But it said Blix's decision was "unjust and did not take into consideration the scientific facts regarding the issue."
"In order to establish a timetable and other technical and procedural criteria required for implementation, we suggest dispatching a technical team urgently for this purpose," the letter added.
DISMISSAL AND DEPLOYMENT
U.S. officials quickly dismissed the Iraqi offer.
"This is exactly what's been going on for years," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington. "Only when finally something ends up as a possible problem for them in the United Nations does he at the last minute throw in the towel and say, 'Well maybe I'll do that."'
Navy officials said the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz, based in San Diego, would head to the Gulf region on Monday. Five other U.S. carriers, along with their battle groups of missile-firing warships, are already in the Gulf and the Mediterranean, within striking distance of Iraq.
In addition, the Pentagon said several long-range, radar-evading B-2 stealth bombers, each capable of carrying up to 20 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs, were expected to leave in the coming days.
The Pentagon already has deployed B-1 bombers and F-117 stealth fighters along with hundreds of other Air Force and Navy planes as part of a massive military buildup near Iraq, including about 200,000 ground troops and 8,000 sailors.
Bush has said the United States will lead a coalition of nations to disarm Iraq by force if necessary if Baghdad does not comply with U.N. demands that it give up alleged banned weapons of mass destruction.
DIVIDED COUNCIL
At the Security Council, members met for the first time since the introduction of a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution that would authorize an invasion of Iraq.
The resolution is not expected to come to a vote for another two weeks but its adoption in the 15-member council would need a minimum of nine votes in favor, with no veto from its five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
While the United States and Britain are pressing for the new resolution, France, Russia and China want U.N. arms inspections to continue for at least four more months.
On Friday Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia opposed any resolution that would lead to a war to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and declined to rule out a Russian veto.
"Russia does not support any resolution which could directly or indirectly open the way to an armed resolution of the Iraq problem," Ivanov told a news conference in Beijing.
"Naturally, Russia has the right of veto. If the interest of international stability demands it, Russia, of course will exercise its right," he said.
Among the 10 members that are elected for two-year terms, six including Chile and Mexico have come under intense pressure by all sides to vote for or against the resolution.
"This divided council is in fact throwing the decision on the back of the elected members while the permanent members stick to their positions without making efforts to approximate their views," Chilean Ambassador Gabriel Valdes said.
Washington's strategy is to get the minimum nine votes needed to adopt the resolution and then dare any veto-bearing nation, such as Russia, China or France, to kill the resolution.
France has the reverse strategy: if the United States does not get the nine votes, it would be spared making a decision about whether or not to veto the measure.
In London, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told The Times in an interview published on Friday he was confident the second resolution would be approved.
Straw hinted at some flexibility over the wording of the new resolution.
"We are attached to the principle behind the resolution but we are up for negotiation on it," he said.
"I think we should get it. I am very confident that the argument for a second resolution is overwhelming, especially for those who signed up to the first resolution," he said.
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