Wait, most on U.N. council urge

UNITED NATIONS -- Key members of the U.N. Security Council said Wednesday that the United States has so far failed to convince them that time has run out for a peaceful resolution to the crisis with Iraq.

At a council meeting a day after President Bush's State of the Union speech, 11 of the 15 members supported giving more time to weapons inspectors to pursue Iraq's peaceful disarmament, council diplomats told the Associated Press.

Calling for continued inspections were France, Russia and China, which all have veto power, as well as Germany, Mexico, Chile, Guinea, Cameroon, Syria, Angola and Pakistan. Only Bulgaria and Spain backed the United States and Britain in focusing on Iraq's failures rather than the inspections process.

"There are members of the council who are asking for time, but it isn't a matter of time. It's a matter of whether Iraq realizes that the game is up, or whether it is trying to keep the inspectors at bay," British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said during a break in the daylong Security Council meeting, held behind closed doors.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States would conduct intense negotiations, both at the United Nations and between capitals, ahead of the special council meeting Wednesday at which where Powell is expected to present evidence of Iraq's secret weapons programs and links to terrorist groups.

In a letter to be published today in newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London, the leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark pay homage to the "bravery and generosity of America" in ensuring peace in Europe.

And in a veiled attack on current dissidents France and Germany, the leaders call for "unwavering determination and firm international cohesion on the part of all countries for whom freedom is precious."

Hussein vows to repel attack

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein vowed Wednesday that Iraq is ready to confront a U.S. attack.

In a televised speech, the Iraqi leader said, "We know that they are coming with large forces of infantry and armored units to storm our defensive positions. But we will absorb the momentum of the attack, destroy it and defeat it."

"Iraq is not Afghanistan," Hussein added. "Iraq has huge capabilities and throughout history, Iraqis never allowed foreigners to stay on their homeland."

Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, dismissed President Bush's State of the Union address and denied any links between Iraq and the al-Qaida network.

"The accusations of Mr. Bush in his statement last night are baseless, simply baseless," Aziz said on ABC's Good Morning, America. "I challenge Bush and his government to present any, any evidence of that."

For domestic consumption, Iraqi officials and news organizations treated Bush's address as a nonevent.

State-run television and radio broadcast no reports about the speech. The official Iraqi News Agency also carried no report. The address took place in the early-morning hours, local time, too late to be included in the daily newspapers.

Iraqi rocket tubes debated

UNITED NATIONS -- The top nuclear inspector conceded Wednesday that aluminum tubes the Iraqis had sought for rockets could be modified for a nuclear program, as President Bush reasserted in his State of the Union address.

"We believe the tubes were destined for the conventional rocket program," Mohamed ElBaradei said. "They could be used for enrichment but they need substantial modification before they could be used."

He said such a process would be expensive, time-consuming and detectable but that the Iraqis have the capabilities to alter the tubes.

ElBaradei told the Security Council in a report Monday that he had found no evidence Iraq had revived its nuclear program. The comments, coupled with his determination that the tubes were for rockets, put him at odds with the Bush administration which has insisted the tubes were meant for enriching uranium.

The back-and-forth between the Bush administration and ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency began shortly after the president first raised the Iraqi attempts to buy the materials when he addressed the United Nations last September.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright