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Some U.N. members seem to be adopting a wait-and-see approach for crafting a new resolution to toughen weapons inspections.
©Washington Post
September 18, 2002
UNITED NATIONS -- Russia, France and other nations on Tuesday questioned whether a new Security Council resolution was necessary in the wake of Iraq's offer to permit unconditional weapons inspections, slowing the momentum that had been building for a U.S.-backed plan to confront Iraq over its defiance of previous U.N. demands to give up its weapons of mass destruction.
While Bush administration officials swiftly rejected Iraq's offer as a ruse, many here hailed the Iraqi stance as a possible step toward averting a war and urged the United Nations to explore its implications. "From our standpoint, we don't need any special resolution for that (inspections) to occur," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said.
On Capitol Hill, leaders in both parties expressed skepticism about the Iraqi letter and support appeared to be gathering for a congressional resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. But the quickly shifting debate at the United Nations, just days after President Bush forcefully demanded the U.N. take action, suggested the administration still hasn't convinced much of the international community of the urgency of the Iraqi threat.
The administration plans to intensify its lobbying campaign today, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will testify on Iraq before the House International Relations Committee. Secretary of State Colin Powell will follow on Thursday, a week earlier than planned.
U.S. officials argue that the current inspection regime, which Iraq suspended in 1998, has such lengthy timetables that it would permit Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to drag out the inspections process for months, if not years. They said they are crafting a Security Council resolution that would set specific benchmarks and a much shorter timeline for judging whether Iraq is fully cooperating in the effort to eliminate any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons -- and also promise consequences if Iraq fails to live up to the U.N.'s demands.
Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, met Iraqi officials Tuesday to discuss details involved in restarting inspections. During a Security Council meeting, French officials pushed for Blix to report to the council as early as today, in an apparent attempt to shift the debate to the question of resuming inspections and away from the U.S. plan to win a new resolution with more stringent conditions.
U.S. and British officials objected to the French proposal, saying Blix should decide when he's ready to brief the council. In the end, it was decided Blix will brief the Security Council on Thursday. Blix briefed the council on the subject last week.
At the meeting, Iraq agreed to meet with the weapons inspectors in Vienna in 10 days to finalize the arrangements, said Saeed Hasan, a senior Iraqi official who oversees Iraq's relations with the United Nations. Hasan said Iraq had agreed to provide information on how it has used dual-use equipment since the beginning of 1999, after inspections were terminated.
Blix said he would meet with Iraqi officials in Vienna the "week of Sept. 30" to discuss "practical" arrangements for inspectors to be readmitted and to make sure the inspectors and Iraqi government see "eye to eye" over requirements.
Throughout the day, U.S. officials pressed their case that Hussein can't be trusted and that the other countries shouldn't fall for any last-minute Iraqi gambits. President Bush said in Tennessee on Tuesday, "The United Nations must act. It's time to determine if they will be a force for peace or an ineffective debating society."
Powell said the letter proved that Iraq responded to pressure, and that it was necessary for the Security Council to draw up a new resolution "to keep the pressure on" Iraq to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.
Yet it was problematic for the U.S. position that less than 24 hours after the Iraqi letter was received, two permanent members of the Security Council with veto power -- France and Russia -- were reconsidering whether another U.N. resolution was necessary at this point.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters: "All the elements are there now for action. Saddam Hussein must now be held to his word. The inspectors must be sent to Iraq."
Ivanov, who will visit Washington later this week for discussions with U.S. officials, stressed that "only acts" will demonstrate whether Iraq is sincere and that the United Nations could wait for the first report from a revived inspection team in about six months.
Ivanov held open the possibility that a new resolution could be considered on the other issues raised by Bush in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly last week -- such as return of prisoners from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Persian Gulf War and respect for human rights.
WASHINGTON -- Top Democrats and Republicans, brushing aside Iraq's offer to readmit United Nations weapons inspectors, said Tuesday Congress will vote in a few weeks on a resolution authorizing use of force against Saddam Hussein if he doesn't prove to the world he no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction.
"I think there will be a vote well before the (Nov. 5) elections," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "The real question is what will the resolution say."
Daschle's comments were the clearest indication yet that Congress will confront the issue of a possible strike against Iraq before U.S. voters decide several close elections, which will determine who controls the House, Senate and many governorships.
Despite Daschle's comments, his party remains divided on how much freedom to grant the president to wage war. Many Democrats want to limit Bush's options by mandating that any military strike be sanctioned by the United Nations, not the U.S. alone or with the assistance of only Britain and a few other allies. This could become a sticking point in talks between Bush and Democrats.
The president will meet with congressional leaders this morning to make his case for a toughly worded resolution giving him maximum flexibility to carry out his policy of regime change if Hussein doesn't promptly comply, the Washington Post reported.