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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (47938)	9/29/2002 12:26:47 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Albright laments rash 'exuberance' over Iraq (Even Kissinger says: "It cannot be either the American national interest or the world's interest to develop principles that grant every nation an unfettered right of pre-emption against its own definition of threats to its security," )By James Harding in Washington Published: September 26 2002 20:37 \| Last Updated: September 26 2002 20:37 Madeleine Albright, the US secretary of state under Bill Clinton, on Thursday accused some members of the Bush administration of an "irrational exuberance for this conflict" with Iraq. Speaking before the Senate committee on foreign relations, Ms Albright said: "It is not an American trait to want war. "And it is not a sign of sound leadership to understate the risks of war or to offer constantly shifting rationales - as this administration has - for undertaking such a venture," Ms Albright said. Her comments followed a speech earlier this week by Al Gore, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2000, who criticised the Bush administration for its handling of the war on terror and warned against a unilateral assault on Iraq. Taken together, the criticism offers a rallying call for what has so far been generally muted Democrat opposition to Mr Bush's approach to Iraq. The president on Thursday met 17 members of the US House of Representatives to encourage support for a tough resolution from Congress authorising the use of force to oust Saddam Hussein. Ms Albright on Thursday urged Congress to give Mr Bush that authority, but she also called for a more restrictive resolution. She noted that the language presented by the White House would authorise the use of force unrelated to any specific countries, threats, American interests or periods of time. Ms Albright warned against pursuing Iraq when the "more urgent threat" remains al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. "This is not the time or place for short attention spans," she said. She also warned that the US could face a "no-win choice" in the post-Saddam Hussein era. "A prolonged US military occupation of the country that served as the cultural capital of Islam during that civilisation's Golden Age. . . would hand a new organising tool to anti-American terrorists worldwide." On the other hand, a quick withdrawal could plunge the country into factionalism and civil war. "It is naive to think that a peaceful and democratic Iraq will automatically emerge from the ashes of our invasion," Ms Albright said. Also appearing before the Senate foreign relations committee was Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state. Mr Kissinger also urged Congress to give the president the authority to use military force, but he raised concerns about the Bush administration's commitment to the principle of pre-emptive military action. "It cannot be either the American national interest or the world's interest to develop principles that grant every nation an unfettered right of pre-emption against its own definition of threats to its security," Mr Kissinger said. He also called on the administration, in conjunction with other great powers, to establish a new international order to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.