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

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (60011)	12/5/2002 12:31:38 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 281500

Iraq oil-for-food program extended But list of items requiring approval for import could be lengthened (despite US non-humanitarian stance.Such hypocrisy.) Associated Press UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the U.N. humanitarian program in Iraq for six months and review a list of goods that Baghdad needs approval to import within 30 days. The resolution represented a compromise between the United States, which wants to quickly add about 50 items with possible military uses to the list, and the other 14 council members, who wanted to renew the oil-for-food program for the usual six-month period. The United States had been at odds with the rest of the Security Council on how long the program should be extended. The compromise preserves council unity over Iraq at a critical time, with U.N. weapons inspectors in the country carrying out a toughened search for illegal arms. "It's absolutely a victory for common sense, and victory for the Security Council, and I would say victory for the Iraqi people," said Russia's U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. "We ensured ... that the humanitarian program continues uninterrupted." U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States will move swiftly to implement the agreement and update the so-called goods review list. The Bush administration initially proposed a two-week extension so it could try to add new items to the 419-page list, including nerve antidotes and jamming equipment. The list already includes thousands of items ranging from machine tools and advanced computers to lasers and nuclear fuel production plants. Russia proposed an amendment, backed by the other 13 council members, that would automatically renew the program for the usual six-month period after the two-week extension expired Dec. 18. At a closed-door meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Russians agreed to sit down within 30 days to open up the list of goods, so the United States agreed to extend the program for 180 days, a U.S. official said. Diplomats said it was critical to preserve the hard-won unity that led to the Security Council's unanimous adoption on Nov. 8 of a new resolution on arms inspections, which resumed a week ago. Resolution 1441 threatens "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to comply, and the Bush administration has said it will take military action if the council does not. A French diplomat said the United States made a "wise" decision which preserves council unity and keeps the humanitarian program going without making it "hostage" to approval of an updated list of goods. The program, funded by revenue from Iraqi oil sales, allows Baghdad to purchase food, medicine and other humanitarian goods while sanctions -- imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait -- remain in effect.