U.S. Suffers U.N. Setback Over Iraq; No WMD Found
Thu October 2, 2003 09:10 PM ET
By Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration suffered a string of setbacks over Iraq on Thursday ranging from a rebuff for its proposals on a U.N. role from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to an opinion poll showing Americans thought the war had not been worth it.
Compounding Washington's problems, the CIA official directing the weapons search in Iraq reported to U.S. lawmakers that no chemical or biological arms -- the main reason cited for the U.S.-led invasion in March -- had yet been found.
In Baghdad, the top U.S. general in the country, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said guerrilla attacks had become more lethal and casualties would continue rising.
He was speaking after three U.S. soldiers died in one day, taking the toll of U.S. soldiers killed in action since May 1 -- when President Bush declared major combat over -- to 84.
Bush is trying to garner foreign help in running Iraq by obtaining a new U.N. resolution, but U.N. officials and diplomats reported that Annan made clear on Thursday the world body could not play a proper political role in Iraq under terms Washington wanted.
While not refusing outright to participate in the political process, Annan told ambassadors at a Security Council lunch that the new U.S.-drafted resolution envisaged an impossible U.N. role.
It was one of the few times during his five years as secretary-general Annan had opposed the United States so bluntly on a crucial issue.
The United States had tacit support for the resolution from a majority of Security Council members, although many were skeptical. But Annan's comments, diplomats said, might make it impossible for the 15-member body to support the measure.
"What we need is a coherent and workable mandate," a senior U.N. official told Reuters. "What we do not want is an unimplementable mandate reached on the basis of a false consensus in the council."
In his remarks to reporters, Annan said the U.S. draft had not followed his recommendation of setting up an interim Iraqi government before a constitution was written and new elections were held.
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