Eyes wide shut as US, France go to war over Iraq
By Caroline Overington, Herald Correspondent in New York
March 1 2003
smh.com.au
France and the United States went head-to-head over Iraq yesterday during a bitter session of the United Nations Security Council, as Baghdad agreed in principle to begin destroying illegal missiles.
The closed meeting took place just hours after the UN's chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, delivered another largely negative report on Iraq's attitude to inspections.
UN officials and ambassadors offered a taste of the atmosphere of the debate as they walked out of the meeting with eyes wide with shock.
However, they kept their descriptions of the talks neutral. Germany said they were "intense" and France called them "very interesting" - which is diplomatic speak for "We were tearing each other to pieces in there".
The Blix report, to be presented formally early this morning, Sydney time, said Iraq had offered "very little" in the way of real disarmament after four months of inspections.
But leaks said Dr Blix had some praise for Iraq. France said the willingness to destroy the al-Samoud 2 missiles, deemed illegal because of their range beyond 150 kilometres, was an example of how well the inspections were working.
But there were doubts whether Iraq would begin destroying the missiles by today's deadline set by Dr Blix. It demanded that weapons inspectors first begin talks in Baghdad over how and when they will be dismantled.
The Security Council argument centred on the draft of the second resolution, proposed by the US and Britain, so that a UN-sanctioned war on Iraq can begin.
A UN official who attended told the Herald that France and the US were barely speaking to each other, except to vigorously disagree with everything the other said.
"It was verging on the personal," the official said. "I mean, you know it's getting bad when they don't even try to hide the fact that they can't stand each other's point of view.
"Normally, they would never say they can't agree. They prefer to find some kind of compromise. But they are not bothering with that. They are deeply, deeply divided, and I think today we saw a hardening of their positions, if anything."
The four-hour meeting came to nought. There was no agreement on anything, not even the date that Dr Blix should next appear before the Security Council to discuss his latest report.
By the end of the debate, the council remained deeply divided. Two of the five permanent members with vetoes - the US and Britain - want to go to war. Another two, France and Russia, do not. The fifth, China, is likely to abstain.
The 10 temporary members, elected for two-year terms, are also divided. Spain and Bulgaria support the war, Germany and Syria do not, and Cameroon, Guinea, Chile, Angola, Mexico and Pakistan find themselves stuck in the middle of one of the most rancorous international disputes in recent history.
Chile's ambassador to the UN, Juan Gabriel Valdes, said it was simply not fair that six temporary members would effectively have to decide whether the world goes to war. He scolded the permanent five for not being able to find a way to disarm Iraq that was "effective and legitimate".
"This divided council is in fact throwing the decision on the shoulders of the elected members. The permanent members are just sticking to their positions, without making an effort to approximate their views."
A summary of Dr Blix's report, obtained by the Herald, says "the results in terms of disarmament" of Iraq have been "very limited".
He also criticises Baghdad for not making "greater efforts" to locate the missing bombs, chemical agents, anthrax and other weapons that Iraq is known to have had.
The report notes that it is "hard to understand" why Iraq was only now making an effort to provide inspectors with information they have been seeking since November.
Where the members of the UN Security Council sit
FOR WAR
United States, Britain, Spain and Bulgaria
AGAINST
France, Russia, China, Germany and Syria
UNDECIDED
Cameroon, Guinea, Chile, Angola, Mexico and Pakistan |
