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| International |
| Axis of Weasels to support Iraq Resolution. |
| 2003-10-16 |
| EFL. Germany, France and Russia — the leading opponents to the U.S.-led war in Iraq — said they will vote in favor of a U.S.-backed resolution to help reconstruct Iraq. Well, the Cubs got eliminated(dammit), but hell had still frozen over, so
The U.N. Security Council will vote Thursday morning on the resolution, which would authorize a multinational force under U.S. command and call for troop contributions from other countries. Plus, it seeks "substantial pledges" from the 191 U.N. member states at a donors conference in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 23-24. The vote is expected to be a shut out, with only Syria perhaps abstaining. Gee, I wonder WHY. The three refused to give support for a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force to oust deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and had differed with the United States over the timing of returning the Arab country to full sovereignty. But French officials said the European support would not translate into the funds and troops sought by the United States to ease the burden of American forces in Iraq. "We agreed that the resolution is really an important step in the right direction," Schroeder said after a 45-minute conference call with presidents Jacques Chirac (search) of France and Vladimir Putin (search) of Russia. "Many things have been included from what we proposed. This led us ... to jointly agree to the resolution." Putin, who was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a special observer at an Islamic summit, said the leaders had agreed on a common position, but didn’t give details. U.S. officials had said Wednesday they expected Russia to vote "yes" Thursday, and probably Germany as well, and weren’t ruling out approval by France, the most outspoken critic of Washington’s Iraq policies. China indicated it might support for the resolution that Washington also hopes will set Iraq on its way to independence. "Our attitude has become more and more positive," said China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, whose country supported the package of French-Russian-German amendments. "For China, what we want to see is a stronger role for the U.N. and early return of the sovereignty. At this stage, I think this resolution is far from what (we) expect. But I think as council members, we should always be ready to make compromises," he said Wednesday. Although the Security Council remains split on how fast to transfer power to Iraqis -- and who should oversee Iraq’s political transition from a dictatorship to a democracy -- the compromise appeared to be part of an effort to send a more united message on the importance of returning sovereignty to Iraq. We’d better, but there’s some things we have to do first. |
| Posted by:Atrus |
| #6 Dishman: I think the Chinese had no dog in this fight. Not exactly. The Chinese media have been chockful of the usual anti-American propaganda on the Iraq situation. The difference is that they've figured out that if France and Russia are going to obstruct the US anyway, why bother doing it themselves (and set themselves up for heat from the US)? They're free-riding on French and Russian obstruction. I think the reason for the success of the current resolution is that the French and the Russians have finally figured out they are standing out there naked in front of the world facing the diplomatic and economic wrath of Uncle Sam. That realization is probably what prompted them to agree to the resolution, not any conversion on the road to Damascus. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-10-16 4:09:55 PM |
| #5 I think the Chinese had no dog in this fight. For the last year, their position seems to have very carefully tracked the 'center'. I think their primary objective WRT Iraq is to not piss anyone off. They seem to have done a pretty good job of it. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-10-16 2:55:45 PM |
| #4 Still makes me wonder what we've found there. They're being too agreeable. Did we agree to give Pooty-poot a piece of the action? And China - did we use NorK pressure? Hard to take over the world when your neighbor's eating humans and we could look the other way. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-16 1:20:21 PM |
| #3 Mr. Chairman, the delegation from the great state of Syria votes: YES! 15-0! Do you suppose Assad got the message? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-10-16 11:20:51 AM |
| #2 the "united message" eases the political pressure on Blair(yet again), provides cover for countries like India and Bangladesh to send troops, makes it easier for Japan and South Korea to send money (and maybe troops) and improves our bargaining position with the Turks. Probably helps with the "Arab street" (for those who take that seriously) and may even help in Iraq (at least in the Sunni triangle, though probably not among the Kurds who have little love for the weasels) It also eases the situation at home, makes it easier for Dubya to pass the $ package, and eases domestic pressures. All in all a big win - and a nice strategy - peel off China and Russia first, isolating Germany and France. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-10-16 10:39:57 AM |
| #1 ..the compromise appeared to be part of an effort to send a more united message on the importance of returning sovereignty to Iraq. Sending a "more united message" is of no value here. The objective is to get Iraq and its citizens up and running a functional, orderly government. Whether it takes a year or several years, the point is to do the right thing, without having to be concerned with some kind of Axis of Weasels-defined timetable on the process. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-16 10:02:46 AM |