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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (150557)	8/28/2002 12:25:05 PM
From: Alighieri	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1588828

World Leaders Urge U.S. Restraint Wed Aug 28,11:24 AM ET By LESHWITI TUTWANE, Associated Press Writer GABORONE, Botswana (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ( news - web sites) urged the United States to resist attacking Iraq, joining calls from leaders in Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Wednesday for restraint in considering military action to topple Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites). The stepped-up opposition to a military strike against Iraq came after Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) on Monday warned that the United States could face devastating consequences from any delay in acting to remove Iraq's government, which Washington accuses of trying to rebuild its banned weapons programs. On Tuesday, Annan said he favored ongoing dialogue with Saddam's government and that if Washington decides to attack Iraq it would not reflect U.N. policy. "The U.N. is not agitating for military action" against Iraq, Annan told a news conference after talks with Botswana's President Festus Mogae. In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Wednesday renewed their criticism of plans to use military force against Saddam. Schroeder insisted that Germany wouldn't take part in an attack — "at least not under my leadership." Fischer told German radio that "with no change in the analysis of the threat posed by Iraq, we believe a regime change brought about by military intervention to be highly risky and its consequences unclear, which is why we reject it." In China, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri met with Vice Premier Qian Qichen on Wednesday in an effort to drum up support for Baghdad from a traditional ally. Qian reportedly said he opposed U.S. military action against Iraq. In the meeting, Qian repeated China's demand that Iraq implement U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for the return of U.N. arms inspectors, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua also quoted Qian as saying that "China does not agree with the practice of using force or threatening to use force to resolve this issue." Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the region, on Wednesday repeated its opposition to a military attack on Iraq, saying Washington should insist on a return of weapons inspectors. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said: "Attacking the Iraqi people will force them into backing their government." Bahrain's king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, reiterated his country's opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq. The official Syrian Arab News Agency said that during a visit to Syria on Wednesday, Sheik Hamad urged Iraq to comply with U.N. resolutions and spare the region "further tensions and suffering." With key allies balking at a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage stumped for support in Japan on Wednesday and indicated Washington was just getting started on building a coalition against Baghdad. Armitage declined to say how many nations back Washington's push for toppling Saddam. "I don't think I'd care to give a laundry list because I don't think we've choosed sides yet on the question of who would do what," Armitage told a news conference wrapping up a five-nation Asia tour in Tokyo. "When the U.S. lays out a public case against Iraq, we expect to have a fair amount of international support," Armitage said. Cheney on Monday argued that a pre-emptive strike to stop Saddam from developing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons was necessary. "What we must not do in the face of a mortal threat is to give in to wishful thinking or willful blindness," he said. In Britain, the main U.S. ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair ( news - web sites) and other officials have repeatedly said it is too early to make a decision about whether to participate in such an attack. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Blair said on condition of anonymity that Britain has "100 percent agreed with the U.S. that you have to deal with the issue of weapons of mass destruction." He added, however, that "equally, there is a route for Saddam to resolve the issue by giving unfettered access to U.N. inspectors and for him to comply with U.N. resolutions." Sanctions were imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and cannot be lifted until U.N. inspectors certify that Iraq's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs have been dismantled along with the long-range missiles to deliver them. Inspectors left Baghdad ahead of U.S. and British airstrikes in December 1998 to punish Iraq for not cooperating with inspections. Iraq has barred them from returning. The United Nations ( news - web sites) has failed to persuade Iraq to readmit the inspectors despite three rounds of talks since March. Iraq said it wants to continue a dialogue on their return — but with conditions Annan has rejected. While U.S. officials have said they are not rushing into a war with Iraq, they have not ruled out the use of military action either. In Iraq, officials on Wednesday gave reporters a tour of a site said to be suspected of producing chemical and biological agents but which Baghdad insists makes insecticides for home and farm use. It was the third such visit by reporters this month. Officials said the Falluja-3 plant, located 65 miles west of Baghdad, was destroyed by U.S. warplanes in 1991 and 1998 and rebuilt each time. Reporters saw no signs of damage.