UNITED NATIONS council unanimously approved a tough new Iraq resolution
Sorry if this is old new, I've been busy this A.M.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The Security
Council unanimously approved a tough new
Iraq resolution Friday, aimed at forcing
Saddam Hussein to disarm or face ``serious
consequences'' that would almost certainly
mean war.
President Bush threatened Saddam Hussein
with ``the severest consequences'' if he fails
to disarm.
``The outcome of the current crisis is already determined. The full disarmament of
weapons of mass destruction will occur. The only question for the Iraqi regime is
to decide how,'' he said in the White House Rose Garden. ``His cooperation must
be prompt and unconditional or he will face severest consequences.''
The vote on resolution No. 1441 came after eight weeks of tumultuous
negotiations and was seen as a victory for the United States, which drafted the
document together with Britain. Saddam now has until Nov. 15 to accept the
resolution and to comply.
Chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, said an advance team of inspectors will
arrive in Baghdad on Nov. 18 after a nearly four-year absence. He said the
unanimous council vote ``strengthens our mandate very much.'' Inspectors would
have up to 45 days to actually begin work, and must report to the council 60 days
later on Iraq's performance.
The unanimous vote came as a surprise with support even from Syria, Iraq's
neighbor, and Russia whose yes vote was not known until the last moment.
Iraq said it would review the resolution before deciding whether to accept the plan,
Iraq's U.N. ambassador told The Associated Press.
``Iraq will certainly study the resolution and decide whether we can accept it or
not,'' Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri said moments after the resolution
was unanimously approved.
Al-Douri also said he was surprised by Syria's support for the resolution but said
Baghdad would not hold it against Damascus.
``I don't blame anyone. We respect and understand all the votes,'' he said, hinting
that Iraq had also held out hope for a Russian abstention which never came.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had worked closely with the United States
in preparing the tougher new stance, warned Saddam he will face military action if
he fails to comply.
``Defy the U.N.'s will and we will disarm you by force,'' Blair told reporters at his 10
Downing St. office. ``Be in no doubt whatever over that.'' But Blair said the
resolution would not necessarily bring war. ``Conflict is not inevitable, but
disarmament is,'' he said.
Secretary General Kofi Annan said Baghdad should comply for the sake of the
Iraqi people.
``Iraq has a new opportunity to comply with all these relevant resolutions of the
Security Council. I urge the Iraqi leadership for the sake of its own people...to
seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the
Iraqi people.''
Germany, which had opposed unilateral U.S. military action against Saddam and
becomes a council member in January, said the Iraqi leader now could have no
doubt about the future of his weapons program.
``The resolution is a clear signal to Baghdad: Saddam Hussein must realize what
serious consequences the non-observance of the resolution would entail,'' Foreign
Minister Joschka Fischer said in a statement.
Russia, which forced reworking of the U.S. draft of the resolution throughout the
deliberations, said it was satisfied the resolution will not, in and of itself, spark
military action.
``What is most important is that the resolution deflects the direct threat of war''
and opens the road to ``a political diplomatic settlement,'' said Russia's U.N.
Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. Russia has been Iraq's strongest council ally.
For weeks Syria insisted no new resolution was necessary. But after intense
lobbying, particularly by France, Syria said Thursday for the first time it could
accept the resolution if Damascus' proposals were included.
Syria's deputy U.N. Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said Damascus voted ``yes''
after receiving assurances from key nations ``that this resolution would not be
used as a pretext to strike Iraq.'' The resolution ``reaffirms the central role of the
Security Council'' and Iraq's sovereignty, both key issues for Syria, he said.
In remarks after the vote, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, ``This
resolution is designed to test Iraq's intentions.''
The broad support sends a strong message to Baghdad that the Security
Council--divided for years over Iraq--expects full compliance with all U.N.
resolutions.
A breakthrough in negotiations came Thursday when France and the United
States reached a critical agreement to address French concerns that the
resolution could automatically trigger an attack on Iraq.
``This resolution is a success for the Security Council and the United Nations,''
said France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-David Levitte. ``This success must now
become a success for peace.''
But Iraq ``must understand that this opportunity is the final one,'' he said.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said there are ``no hidden triggers'' for the
automatic use of force against Iraq if it does not comply with the resolution. He
emphasized that should the inspectors report Iraqi violations, the matter would
return to the Security Council and if it does not act, the United States would.
``To the government of Iraq our message is simple: non-compliance is no longer
an option,'' he said.
While the United States made some major concessions to critics, the final draft
still meets the Bush administration's key demands: toughening U.N. weapons
inspections and leaving the United States free to take military action against Iraq if
inspectors say Baghdad isn't complying.
At French and Russian insistence the Security Council would then meet to
discuss any reported Iraqi violation. At that stage, the Council would consider
further action. However, the resolution says nothing that would forbid the United
States from attacking at that point.
As a ``carrot'' to Iraq, the resolution gives Saddam ``a final opportunity'' to
cooperate with weapons inspectors, holds out the possibility of lifting 12-year-old
sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and reaffirms the country's
sovereignty.
Washington and London spent eight weeks trying to get all 15 Security Council
members to approve the resolution to send a united message to Saddam.
The United States had tweaked its draft several times to account for French and
Russian concerns over hidden triggers that could automatically launch an attack
on Iraq.
In a key provision that would declare Iraq in ``material breach'' of its U.N.
obligations, the United States changed wording that would have let Washington
determine on its own whether Iraq had committed an infraction.
Iraqi state media called the draft resolution a pretext for war and urged the
Security Council Thursday not to bow to American demands.
``America wants to use this resolution as a pretext and a cover for its aggression
on Iraq and the whole Arab nation,'' the ruling Baath Party newspaper Al-Thawra
said Thursday.
According to a strict timeline in the resolution, Iraq would have seven days to
accept the resolution's terms and 30 days to declare all its chemical, biological
and nuclear programs. Blix, the chief weapons inspector, said Iraq might have
difficulty making a declaration of its large petrochemical industry in that time, but
the United States decided against giving Baghdad more time. |
