Bush Sticks to His Guns on Iraq

19/02/2003| IslamWeb

President Bush said Tuesday mass global protests had not deflected him from his determination to disarm Iraq by force if necessary, either with or without a new U.N. resolution. "Evidently some in the world don't view (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a risk to peace. I respectfully disagree," Bush told reporters as Washington ordered 28,000 more troops to the Gulf region.

Pressing Ahead with Lobbying to Secure Second UN Resolution

The United States and close ally Britain pressed ahead with lobbying of other nations to secure a fresh U.N. mandate authorizing force against Iraq if necessary, and the White House said the resolution could be proposed this week.

The trigger for possible war seems to boil down to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council's view on the level of Iraqi cooperation, with France leading opposition to any new resolution at present on grounds that U.N. inspections in Iraq appear to be working. Washington and London say Iraq has already flouted U.N. disarmament demands.

France, Russia, and China, veto-holders on the U.N. Security Council, have led the argument that U.N. arms inspectors should be given more time to assess whether Iraq has nuclear, chemical and biological weapons while Baghdad shows cooperation.

The United States and Britain, the other veto members, have made no secret of the fact that they see the next report by arms inspectors to the Security Council on February 28 as a key date.

UN Inspectors Report New Hitch with Iraq

U.N. inspectors have found no smoking gun so far but reported a new hitch with Baghdad Tuesday, saying many Iraqi scientists had agreed to be interviewed about arms programs only if the meetings were recorded.

Iraq has made some concessions to the inspectors recently, however, that have made it more difficult for Bush and Blair to win international backing for war. The concessions include allowing U-2 spy plane flights over Iraqi territory.

Turkish Setback for Bush

U.S. war preparations suffered a new setback when Turkey held out for a bigger U.S. financial support package in negotiations on the use of Turkish soil as a launch pad for an invasion of Iraq. Washington expressed optimism that the issue could be resolved.

Bush played down problems in reaching agreement with Turkey on deploying U.S. forces there for any war against Iraq.

In exchange for Turkish help, the United States is offering Ankara an aid package that includes about DLRS 6 billion in grants and up to DLRS 20 billion in loan guarantees. So far Turkey has balked at the offering, seeking twice that amount.

If Turkey carries on dragging its feet, U.S. military planners could go ahead without a northern front. But an attack on Iraq from Turkey would aid a main invasion from the south, possibly shortening any war and reducing American casualties.

The New York Times said senior Bush officials were for the first time openly discussing what could go wrong both during an attack on Iraq and in the aftermath, including concerns that Baghdad could use human shields or explode oil fields.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane lands at an airbase near the southeast Turkish city of Diyarbakir February 17, 2003. U.S. preparations for war with Iraq suffered a new setback Feb. 18 when Turkey dug in its heels in negotiations over its role as a launch pad for an invasion. (Re