Split Security Council Faces Fight to Avoid War

15/03/2003| IslamWeb

With the United States on the brink of war with Iraq, undecided members of the U.N. Security Council struggled on Friday to find a way to unite the bitterly divided 15-member body and avert a military conflict. The United States, anxious to salvage from looming defeat a resolution authorizing military action against Baghdad, called a Sunday summit with co-sponsors Britain and Spain to give diplomacy a last chance.

But diplomats thought the summit, involving President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, might result in withdrawal of the resolution.

No Common Position Amongst Six Undecided Council Members

Angola's U.N. ambassador said the six undecided Security Council members had not come to a common position on proposals floated by Chile on Friday that would delay any resolution authorizing war for about three weeks and require Iraq to complete disarmament tasks before then.

In addition to Chile and Angola, the undecided nations include Mexico, Cameroon, Pakistan and Guinea.

The U.S.-British-Spanish resolution is far from getting the minimum nine votes needed for adoption, with none of the six undecided council members openly backing it and several saying they could not support the measure in its current form.
Moreover, the draft faces a possible veto from France, Russia and China.

The U.S-backed resolution set a Monday deadline for Iraq to disarm or face war. Britain has proposed a series of tests Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein must fulfill in order to avoid war and has expressed willingness to push for an extension of the deadline by about 10 days.

Chile Offers Proposal

Chile suggested Iraq fulfill five conditions, similar to those proposed by Britain, over the next three weeks that the Security Council must first evaluate before deciding on war, according to President Ricardo Lagos.

The paper distributed at the United Nations had a 30-day deadline but Chilean officials said this had been shortened to three weeks.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer immediately shot down the Chilean plan as a "non-starter." But it was indicative of the discontent among the six uncommitted nations about a resolution that would trigger war immediately as the U.S.-backed draft does.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

*_President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar will meet Sunday in what the White House called "an effort to pursue every last bit of diplomacy." The leaders will confer on an island in the mid-Atlantic to search for a way to win U.N. backing for using force to disarm Iraq, officials said. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said Washington was still seeking a Security Council vote next week.

*_ Blair spoke by telephone with French President Jacques Chirac, but the 10-minute conversation apparently did little to ease the bitterness between the two. Chirac said he would not accept an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein, Blair's spokesman said.

*_ Millions of Europeans stopped work for 15 minutes at midday to protest a possible attack on Iraq. In the United States, dozens of former members of Congress urged Bush to give weapons inspectors more time.

*_ Chilean President Ricardo Lagos proposed a new plan for the U.N. Security Council, setting out five disarmament conditions for Iraq to meet in three weeks. The proposal, being considered by Chile and five undecided council nations, does not include a trigger for war. Washington called it a "nonstarter."

*_ German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he is convinced the crisis can still be resolved peacefully, insisting that U.N. weapons inspections can produce "sustainable and verifiable disarmament."

*_ A prominent Muslim religious authority in Baghdad joined 30 others in calling for a holy war against a U.S.-led attack. An editorial published the newspaper of Saddam's Baath Party, called on nations opposed to military action to strengthen their "rejection of aggression."

*_ Signaling impatience with Turkey, the Pentagon began moving warships out of the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where they could launch missiles on a path to Iraq that would not go over Turkey.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi Ambassador to the U.N. Mohammed Aldouri stands alone talking on his mobile phone outside the Security Council chambers as members met in consultations about the weapons crisis with Iraq March 14, 2003. (Jim Bour