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

To: paul_philp who wrote (73907)	2/14/2003 2:47:32 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

U.S. hikes pressure on allies, Security Council members globeandmail.com Powell meeting all 14 other members of Security Council on day weapons inspectors make crucial report By ALLISON LAWLOR Globe and Mail Update and Associated Press UPDATED AT 2:18 PM EST Friday, Feb. 14, 2003 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell pressed reluctant U.S. allies on Friday to threaten force in Iraq, saying that recent improvements by Iraq are not enough to bring the country into compliance with disarmament demands. Mr. Powell dismissed the moves, such as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's decree banning the use of weapons of mass destruction, calling them "tricks" that are designed to fool the international community. "Iraq is complying by co-operating with UN inspectors only in process and not in substance," Mr. Powell told a key meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday. "That is all process, it is not substance. These are all tricks that are being played on us." He said firmly that what is needed now is not more inspections but for Iraq to disarm immediately. Mr. Powell said that Resolution 1441 was not about inspections but about disarmament, something that Iraq has not done. "To this day, we have not seen the level of co-operation that was anticipated," he said. The international community must continue to put pressure on Iraq, he said, adding that while force should always be the last resort, it cannot be ruled out. The world cannot afford to sit by and let Iraq string out the inspections process and hope that the international community will eventually forget about them, Mr. Powell said. The Security Council will soon have to decide whether it is time to consider serious consequences, he said. Throughout Friday, Mr. Powell had plans to meet with all 14 foreign ministers of the Security Council nations, but France and Russia, with their power to veto a new UN resolution to authorize force, held the key to the Bush administration's effort to rid Iraq of any weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Powell met first with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and then saw Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov before the council went into session. They made no statements. Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said Friday that inspectors had not found any weapons of mass destruction and interviews with scientists have been useful. Dr. Blix also cast doubt on evidence provided by Mr. Powell claiming Iraq had cleaned-up suspect sites before inspectors arrived. "In no case have we seen convincing evidence that the Iraqi side knew in advance that the inspectors were coming," Dr. Blix said. Pointing to one case where Mr. Powell used satellite photos that he said showed a munitions depot, Dr. Blix said: "The reported movement of munitions at the site could just as easily have been a routine activity" as one designed to hide banned materials before inspections. Mr. Powell, sitting at the U.S. table, quietly took notes on Dr. Blix's presentation. Regarding weapons of mass destruction, Dr. Blix said the inspection team "has not found any such weapons, only a small number of empty chemical munitions, which should have been declared and destroyed," he said. He said a finding "of great significance" was that many proscribed weapons "are not accounted for. One must not jump to the conclusion that they exist. "However, that possibility is also not excluded. If they exist, they should be presented for destruction. If they do not exist, credible evidence to that effect should be presented." In Baghdad, in an apparent attempt to avert an attack, Mr. Hussein signed a decree banning the use of weapons of mass destruction. The White House scoffed at that. "If one would want to make believe and pretend that Iraq is a democracy that could pass meaningful laws, it would be 12 years late and 26,000 litres of anthrax short," press secretary Ari Fleischer said. "It would be 12 years late and 38,000 litres of botulism short. And it would be 12 years late and 30,000 unfilled chemical warheads short." U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that the United Nations must help him confront Mr. Hussein or "fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant, debating society." As Mr. Bush issued his call for unity, the administration said Americans should be prepared for "a fairly long-term commitment" in Iraq if the United States goes to war. The United States says Iraq has weapons of mass destruction in violation of several UN resolutions, an assertion denied by Baghdad. Mr. Bush has said war is his last resort to disarm Mr. Hussein while making it clear that time is running out on any other options. There are 130,000 U.S. land, sea and air forces massed in the Persian Gulf region awaiting Bush's decision. Mr. Bush is expected as early as next week to put forth a request for a UN resolution authorizing force.

To: paul_philp who wrote (73907)	2/14/2003 2:48:13 PM
From: Rollcast...	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

think it is true that it is the author's opinion Dont forget the author is an "eminent speaker"... I wonder if he wrote that bio himself? Scott, it is not the Bush administration that promotes hatred. Well said.