U.S. and Britain Hint at Delaying Proposed Iraq Deadline
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
nytimes.com
Filed at 12:28 p.m. ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Facing almost certain defeat, the United States and Britain signaled Tuesday they would extend for a short period a deadline for Saddam Hussein to disarm or face war.
France, meanwhile, said it was ``open to dialogue'' but will not budge on the fundamentals it has championed since the start of the crisis.
While open to extending the deadline for Iraq to prove it has disarmed, Washington and London discounted a 45-day delay sought by six swing nations on the Security Council.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer insisted Tuesday that the resolution would be put to a vote this week but said a proposal being floated to push back the March 17 deadline by a month was ``a non-starter.''
``There is room for diplomacy here,'' Fleischer said. ``Not much room and not much time.''
Ambassador Martin Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon said he and ambassadors from other swing countries -- Mexico, Chile, Angola, Guinea and Pakistan -- would suggest a deadline of 45 days. But U.S. officials shrugged off the proposal.
``It's not going anywhere; there's only one resolution on the table,'' one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said the March 17 deadline could be extended but not by much.
Britain is ``prepared to look at timelines and tests together, but I'm pretty sure we're talking about action in March. Don't look beyond March,'' he told CNN.
Reacting to details of the latest British compromise, French diplomats said the resolution would still mean authorizing war, which France is unwilling to do.
However, the French Foreign Ministry in Paris indicated it was open to new ideas.
``It's a new development and the future will tell us if it is a significant development,'' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau. ``We've indicated we are open to dialogue.''
He added that the ``red line'' set out by France cannot be crossed: ``We want no ultimatum. We want no element of automaticity. And we've said we want what the inspectors say taken into account.''
During a closed-door council meeting late Monday, diplomats said Greenstock suggested a two-phase approach to the draft resolution, which is co-sponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain. Under the proposal, Saddam would have 10 days to prove that Iraq has taken a ``strategic decision'' to disarm, which could be done with a series of tests or ``benchmarks,'' council diplomats said.
If Iraq makes that decision, a second phase would begin with more time to verify Iraq's full disarmament, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
``There is a two-stage process,'' Greenstock said. ``One is to be convinced that Iraq is cooperating, the other is to disarm Iraq completely.''
Security Council ambassadors said Greenstock made clear the timeline would still be the end of March -- meaning that the most time Iraq could hope to get would be about two weeks if the resolution passed this week.
The Bush administration had talked of a vote as early as Tuesday, but with France and Russia threatening to veto the current draft resolution, and without the minimum nine ``yes'' votes, it held up action in the council.
Instead, council members agreed to hold another open meeting on the crisis on Tuesday and Wednesday at the request of the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents about 115 mainly developing countries.
The open meeting will give nations from all parts of the world a chance to voice their views on an issue that has polarized the Security Council. It will also give supporters and opponents of the U.S.-backed resolution more time to lobby the half dozen undecided countries on the council.
Pakistani officials said for the first time publicly that their country wouldn't support war with Iraq and would abstain from voting. And Chile, another vote which Washington is after, suggested it is not prepared to embrace the resolution without changes.
The resolution -- which authorizes war anytime after March 17 unless Iraq proves before then that it has disarmed -- requires nine ``yes'' votes. Approval also requires that France, Russia and China withhold their vetoes -- either by abstaining or voting in favor.
France and Russia have said they would cast vetoes.
The United States is assured the support of Britain, Spain and Bulgaria, with Cameroon leaning heavily toward the U.S. position. But with Germany, Syria and now Pakistan preparing abstentions or ``no'' votes, Washington is left trying to canvass the support of Chile, Angola, Mexico and Guinea.
Japan has begun lobbying the undecided council members to urge support for the U.S.-backed resolution, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. In one call, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told Mexican President Vicente Fox that international divisions were putting the United Nations' authority at stake, the ministry said.
``Mexico is taking an independent position and is not leaning to either side,'' Fox said.
On Monday, Bush conducted an urgent phone campaign aimed at seeking support from world leaders for the March 17 deadline. He talked to a host of top officials from Japan, China, South Africa, Oman, Spain and Turkey.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin insisted to Bush that inspections in Iraq should continue and the standoff should be settled without military action, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Jiang told Bush there was ``no need for any new resolution,'' said spokesman Kong Quan.
In the anti-war camp, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin traveled to Africa to meet with the leaders of Angola, Guinea and Cameroon -- three important swing votes on the council. |
