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

To: Win Smith who wrote (67985)	1/23/2003 11:32:21 AM
From: Noel de Leon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Compare this: "Administration officials said their strategy was based on the belief that there might never be a "smoking gun" proving Iraq's possession of illegal weapons. Accordingly, they acknowledged that the case must be made in a negative fashion: that Iraq has failed to disprove the contentions of the United States and others about its weapons of mass destruction. The administration asserts, without offering evidence, that Iraq has thwarted inspectors by hiding the weapons." With this; "White House officials have reassured Republicans by signalling that America and Britain are prepared to release powerful intelligence evidence to cement the case for war against Iraq." Would you buy snake oil from this group?

To: Win Smith who wrote (67985)	1/23/2003 11:38:35 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

EU allies France and Germany unite against Iraq war The two leaders stand shoulder to shoulder on Iraq news.bbc.co.uk The leaders of France and Germany have pledged to intensify their co-operation against a US-led war against Iraq. The decision was announced in Paris, at a joint news conference by President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on the 40th anniversary of the two countries' post-war friendship treaty. Everything must be done to avoid war Jacques Chirac In an example of the Franco-German opposition, the Nato alliance was unable to approve a US request to advance military planning in the event of war. Both the US and Britain are sending troops to the Gulf region in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq, which has been ordered to show it has no banned weapons of mass destruction. DEPLOYMENT DETAILS 100,000 US troops including: 12,000 4th Infantry division troops 2,000 Marines trained for chemical and biological warfare 26,000 UK troops including: Royal Marines, tanks and an air assault brigade Key maps: Military build up And in a further sign that that a military intervention may be unavoidable, President George W Bush threatened with war crimes charges any Iraqis who used banned weapons in a possible conflict. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters that the president had made no decision to go to war - the US was waiting to see whether the United Nations process of inspections was yielding any results. The UN Security Council is to hear the first report on inspections on 27 January and there have been calls for the inspectors to be given more time to verify Iraqi claims that it had destroyed banned weapons. But Mr Rumsfeld said inspectors were not "discoverers" trying to find things that had been hidden - that kind of hunt would take years. He said the test ought to be determining whether the Iraqis were co-operating not whether the inspectors had discovered anything. 'Extra delay' Speaking on French television, President Chirac said "an extra delay is necessary" to give the weapons inspectors more time to search Iraq for banned arms. He said he backed a request by the UN's chief nuclear weapons inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, for an extension of "several months" for the inspectors to carry out their work. : Who backs war? Where key nations stand on Iraq Earlier, Mr Chirac said France and Germany "have the same judgement on this crisis" - the decision had to be taken by the Security Council and everything ought to be done to avoid war. He said France was co-ordinating its positions "closely" with Germany - to which it hands over the presidency of the Security Council next month. Germany has indicated that it will not support a UN resolution in support of military action. Mr Chirac did not say whether France would use its power of veto. The BBC diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason says Mr Chirac was exaggerating slightly when he said their views were the same. He says Mr Schroeder has abandoned Germany's former automatic loyalty to the United States to take up an even firmer position than France - traditionally Washington's most awkward Western ally. Nato setback On Wednesday, Nato ambassadors declined to agree to an American request to advance military planning, particularly to protect Turkey - the only Nato member bordering Iraq. UN SECURITY COUNCIL China, France, Russia, UK, US have veto 10 other members Nine votes needed for military action Germany assumes presidency 1 Feb Click here for guide to Security Council voting procedures Reports said ambassadors agreed in principle, but France and Germany led other European allies in opposing the timing for such a request. Commenting on Franco-German opposition to US policy on Iraq the US defence secretary dismissed the alliance as "old Europe". There are many more countries in Europe, Mr Rumsfeld said, who supported the US. On Wednesday, President Bush cautioned "any [Iraqi] general or soldier against using weapons of mass destruction on our troops or innocent lives within Iraq. "Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order," Mr Bush said. "If you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal."

To: Win Smith who wrote (67985)	1/23/2003 12:29:41 PM
From: LTK007	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<Bush administration officials said today that next week they would confront France, Germany and other skeptics of military action against Iraq by demanding that they agree publicly that Iraq had defied the United Nations Security Council.> this whole "because we say so" arrogance is, i feel is beginning to blow up in the face of the Bush Kingdom. The Bush refrain of "we are not wimps this is the U.S. on steroids Bub, disagree with us regards Iraq then you are enemies of freedom and who needs you anyway, we are going to kick butt anyway"; is playing badly globally and beginning get increasing sour feedback in the U.S. <<Russia, China Join France, Germany in Opposing War Now Thursday, January 23, 2003; 10:10 AM The Bush administration faced new problems today in its confrontation with Iraq as China and Russia joined U.S. allies France and Germany in rejecting early military action. The nations neighboring Iraq also convened a key meeting today in Turkey aimed at finding ways of averting a war. The stand taken by Paris, Beijing and Moscow means a majority of the five veto-wielding permanent members on the U.N. Security Council are against rushing into war. The other two members are the United States and Britain, who continued their military buildup in the Gulf region today. The Bush administration has indicated it could launch military action without Security Council backing. In Berlin today, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder vowed he and French President Jacques Chirac will do all they can to avert war. "War may never be considered unavoidable," he said. In Athens today, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said there were no grounds to use force at the moment. "There is still political and diplomatic leeway to resolve the Iraq issue," he said. Ivanov agreed with France and Germany that U.N. inspectors in Iraq should be allowed to press on with their job of looking for evidence of weapons of mass destruction. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Beijing's position was "extremely close to that of France." The Bush administration accuses Iraq of hiding nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and has threatened to attack if Baghdad does not disarm in line with a U.N. resolution passed in November. Iraq denies possessing any banned weapons. The U.N. inspectors, who are due to present a key report Monday to the United Nations, have said they need several more months to complete their work. However, President Bush has warned that time is running out for Iraq. The United States is massing 150,000 troops in the region and has said it is ready to use them – with or without a Security Council resolution – if it considers Iraq has not disarmed. In Istanbul today, foreign ministers and diplomats from Iraq's neighbors – Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria – are meeting along with regional heavyweight Egypt, to discuss a way out of the crisis. "The countries ... (at) the Istanbul meeting all have friendly relations with the United States," Iraqi Ambassador Talip Abid Salih El Duleymi said. "We want them to use those relations to dissuade the United States from its intention to attack." Iraq urged Turkey to reject U.S. requests for military support in any attack on Baghdad. The United States is looking to Turkey for use of its air bases and frontiers in the event of military action. Ankara opposes war but may be hard pressed to deny help to its closest NATO ally. The United States has asked NATO to consider several measures to provide indirect military assistance in case of an invasion. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson today denied reports of a "bust-up" Wednesday over providing support. Diplomats said France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg had blocked a decision in NATO on whether to prepare supporting measures, notably defending Turkey's southern flank. But Robertson said the only disagreement was over timing, not substance. In Iraq today, U.N. experts continued their hunt for banned weapons as a local newspaper warned that U.S. troops faced a fate worse than the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks if there is a war. "The events of September 11 will be a picnic compared with what would happen to America if it commits aggression against Iraq," the Babel paper of President Saddam Hussein's son Uday said today. In Iraq today, the U.N. inspectors visited at least five sites, including food stores, a fiberglass production plant, a missile complex and a university.>>