Britain Submits Iraq Resolution to U.N.

25/02/2003| IslamWeb

Seeking U.N. approval for war, the United States and key allies Britain and Spain submitted a resolution Monday to the Security Council declaring Saddam Hussein has missed "the final opportunity" to disarm and indicating he must now face the consequences. But France, Russia and Germany, which oppose the military option, circulated an alternative plan to pursue a peaceful disarmament of Iraq through strengthened inspections over at least the next five months. Their memorandum won immediate backing from China, despite Secretary of State Colin Powell's lobbying efforts with top officials in Beijing on Monday.

The rival positions set the stage for a heated battle over whether the council would back the U.S. and British demand for war now or the French, Russian, and German call for war to be "a last resort." The council decided to hold another closed meeting to discuss the two proposals on Thursday.

The showdown heightened fears of war, with Wall Street posting its biggest decline in a month Monday after a day of light trading.

Getting approval for the U.S.-backed resolution will be a daunting task. To pass, the resolution must have nine "yes" votes and avoid a veto by France, Russia or China. Only Bulgaria is considered a strong bet to support the U.S.-British-Spanish plan.

Eleven of the 15 council members have endorsed the idea of continuing weapons inspections, but the United States has dispatched some of its top negotiators to Security Council capitals in recent days to push for the resolution.

After the rival presentations, no council member indicated a change in its position. But several council diplomats said there was room for a compromise.

But U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the only way Iraq can avoid serious consequences now is to demonstrate "a major, drastic, dramatic change in the attitude that that government has displayed towards the issue of disarming itself of weapons of mass destruction."

Washington has reserved the right to wage war with a coalition of willing nations, but U.N. backing would provide legitimacy and financial support for military action and its aftermath.

The draft resolution does not set any deadlines. But U.S. and British officials made clear they want the Security Council to vote by mid-March.

The resolution acts under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, making it militarily enforceable.

French diplomats said the French-German-Russian plan can be implemented under existing U.N. resolutions.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraqi Crisis

*_ In an interview with CBS anchor Dan Rather, Saddam Hussein challenged President Bush to an internationally televised debate and indicated he did not intend to follow U.N. orders to destroy his Al-Samoud 2 missiles, CBS said on its Web site. CBS planned to broadcast the interview in its entirety Wednesday.

*_ Saddam met with Russian envoy Yevgeny Primakov, promising him that Iraq will pose "no hindrances" to U.N. inspectors. Primakov, a former Russian prime minister, has tried to mediate with Iraq in past crises, including ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.

*_ Turkey's Cabinet approved the deployment of tens of thousands of U.S. troops on the country's soil for any war on Iraq, and Parliament was expected to vote on the measure Tuesday. Turkey and the United States had been wrangling for weeks over conditions for the deployment, seen by Washington as vital for opening up a second front in a war.

*_ Iraq's foreign minister accused the United States of trying to strong-arm the U.N. Security Council into approving a war. "It's a carrot and stick policy - bribery here, pressure there," Naji Sabri said at a summit of non-aligned nations in Malaysia.

*_ Malaysia's prime minister sharply criticized Washington for threatening war against Iraq and told the summit that the U.S.-led fight against terror has become a campaign to dominate the world.

PHOTO CAPTION

United States UN Ambassador John D. Negroponte addresses the press outside the United Nations Security Council following a meeting Monday, Feb. 24, 2003, at the UN headquarters in New York, where the U.S., Britain and Spain proposed a new draft resolution. (AP Photo/Kath