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Politics : Attack Iraq? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (4485)	3/11/2003 12:22:48 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

Posted 3/10/2003 12:12 PM Updated 3/10/2003 9:58 PM U.S. fails to secure Iraq deadline votes By Bill Nichols, USA TODAY URL:http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-10-iraq-diplomacy_x.htm UNITED NATIONS — The United States and Britain considered changes Monday to a United Nations resolution clearing the way for war against Iraq as they faced new veto threats. French Foreign Minister de Villepin, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov leave a meeting with President Chirac at the Elysee Palace. By Jack Dabaghian, Reuters Diplomats in both governments said they were considering extending by a short time the March 17 deadline for Iraq to prove it has complied with U.N. disarmament demands. The extension could be coupled with a detailed list of demands Iraq must meet by that date. Security Council positions The resolution before the U.N. Security Council currently states that Iraq must demonstrate "full, unconditional, immediate and active cooperation with its disarmament obligations" by March 17. It needs nine votes on the 15-member council to pass, with no vote against the resolution by any of the five permanent members — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Where countries stood Monday on the current resolution: Support (4) Britain Bulgaria Spain United States Oppose (5) China France Germany Russia Syria Uncertain (6) Angola Cameroon Chile Guinea Mexico Pakistan (but there are signs it might abstain) Source: USA TODAY research British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he hoped the moves could break a bitter stalemate among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The United States and Britain are pushing for a resolution that would say Iraq has failed to disarm and would give international sanction to a war. France, Russia and China oppose such a resolution. French President Jacques Chirac and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov made their opposition even more emphatic Monday, vowing to veto the resolution as currently written. "Whatever happens, France will vote no," Chirac said. Britain appeared to be seeking a middle ground, which could further delay the start of a war. "What we are proposing is eminently reasonable," Straw told Parliament. "We are not expecting Saddam to have disarmed in a week or so, but to demonstrate by that time the full, unconditional, immediate and active cooperation demanded of him." President Bush maintains that the United States and its allies have the authority to wage war on Iraq regardless of how the council vote turns out. But U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his strongest warning to date, said that if the United States acts without council assent, it will violate the U.N. charter. "The legitimacy and support for any such action would be seriously impaired," Annan said. The United Nations scheduled an open debate beginning today in which all U.N. members can express their views on how to handle the Iraq crisis. There was no indication how far Bush was willing to go to court votes on the council. The administration has been adamant that Iraq is long past its deadline for disarming and must face the "serious consequences" called for in an earlier U.N. resolution. But the United States is open to changes — an indication of how difficult it has been to come up with the votes needed for passage. Nine of the 15 Security Council members must vote in favor, and there can be no vetoes from permanent members. U.S. officials, in conversations with council members, are talking "about what kind of resolution they could vote for," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. As the council moved toward a likely vote later this week, the Bush administration mounted a telephone lobbying blitz that sought to persuade countries on the council to back the resolution. Bush made a round of calls to world leaders, including one to Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Secretary of State Colin Powell lobbied top officials of Guinea, Angola, Mexico and Pakistan, whose votes could be crucial to the outcome. The six undecided council members — Pakistan, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, Angola and Cameroon — were discussing a proposal that would extend the disarmament deadline until mid-April. Last month, the United States dismissed a similar measure presented by Canada. Meanwhile, U.S. officials called attention to Iraq's program to develop unmanned drone aircraft that could be used to dispense chemical or biological agents. Powell said that program "should be of concern to everyone."