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Iraq
Isolated UK rubbishes French plan
2003-02-11
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, will underline Britain's isolation in Europe today by rejecting a joint call by France, Russia and Germany to avoid war by sending more weapons inspectors to Iraq. Mr Straw, in a speech in London, will dismiss the plan, formalised in a declaration in Paris last night. France wants to treble the number of inspectors, but the foreign secretary will deride the idea by saying that even a thousandfold increase would fail to guarantee Iraqi disarmament.
Mr. Straw, as usual, hits the bleedin' nail right on the head.
His comments come less than 24 hours after Iraq bowed to one of the key demands of the international community - agreeing to the overflight of U-2 spyplanes. Both the White House and the Foreign Office dismissed the concession as unsurprising and insufficient.
Is this the U-2 proposal that required us not to enforce the "no-fly" zones?
By forging a formal alliance of weasels, France, Germany and Russia - all members of the security council, two of whom can veto any UN resolution - have greatly strengthened the appeasement anti-war campaign. Their declaration proposed "the continuation forever and ever of inspections and a substantial reinforcement of their human and technical capacities ... in liaison with the inspectors".
500 inspectors + 2,000 lightly armed blue-helmets = 2,500 hostages.
In an ill-concealed dig at recent necessary forceful compelling undiplomatic remarks by increasingly frustrated US officials, the declaration requested that discussions "might continue in the spirit of animus; friendship and disrespect that characterises our relations with the United States". The French president, Jacques Chirac, said: "Nothing today justifies a war. This region really does not need another war."
Normandy might need another war.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said the inspectors were making progress. "Iraq is offering more information and has shown a greater wish and willingness to cooperate," he said, adding that Russia was ready to contribute "equipment and aviation" to any effort to bolster the inspections.
Progress perhaps if you measure it on a geological time scale.
The hardening of the anti-war forces will make it near-impossible for the US and Britain to push this weekend for a second UN resolution declaring Iraq to be in material breach of its disarmament obligations and to authorise war. Without a UN mandate, Tony Blair will have difficulty in carrying his cabinet and party with him into war. He has said that he is aware the Iraq crisis is a threat to his premiership.
Tony has also said that he'll go ahead if there is an "unreasonable" veto. I think what happens next week will qualify.
Mr Straw's speech will underline the extent to which Britain has parted company with mainstream Europe over Iraq. Challenging the logic of the Franco-Russo-German position, he will say: "If Saddam bows to the UN's demands and co-operates promptly, what is the need for greater numbers of inspectors? If he maintains his refusal to cooperate, how will higher numbers help? Lethal viruses can be produced within an area the size of the average living room.

"In the absence of Iraqi cooperation, even a thousandfold increase in the UN monitoring, verification and inspection commission's capabilities will not allow us to establish with any degree of confidence that Iraq has disarmed."
"Hear, hear!" cries the back bench. Of course, it'll be the Tories back bench, the Labour back bench will be clucking and wiping spittle off their chins.
The US and British position is that the policy of containment of Iraq employed by the international community since the Gulf war in 1991 has failed completely is redundant and the French, German and Russian call for an increase in inspectors would mark a return to appeasement containment.

In a further setback to Washington and London yesterday, Axis of Weasels founding members France, Germany and Belgium joined forces to block a US-led move to get Nato approval to bolster Turkey's defences ahead of any war against Iraq. Two emergency meetings at the alliance's Brussels headquarters failed to resolve the issue, which is to be discussed by ambassadors meeting again today.
What's to discuss? You honor your word or you don't.
Nicholas Burns, the US envoy, warned that Nato's credibility was now at stake. Diplomats said Mr Chirac was largely to blame for one of the worst crises in Nato's 54-year history.
Steve DenBeste continues to argue that we don't know the real reason why Chirac has been willing to shred France's position at the UN, NATO, the EU and with many world allies to try and block war with Iraq. It certainly isn't because of any moral principles. This is Chirac we're talking about!
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, stressed the US and "willing allies" would go ahead with planning to help Turkey "outside of Nato if necessary".
Yo, Turkey: we're there for you when you need us. Consider that the next time you need to buy something.
And in another sign of concern about the Iraq crisis, the EU is to hold an emergency summit next week to discuss the widening rift in European-US relations.
There is no widening rift in "European-US relations". Eighteen European nations see eye-to-eye with the US. Three don't. Too bad the EU isn't run by a majority vote.
The divisions will come to a head on Friday in the aftermath of the report to the security council by the UN chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El Baradei, who said yesterday that Iraq has four days to act on promises to fully disarm with "actual progress" that will demonstrate "the change of environment" necessary to avert war. Although the inspectors witnessed the "beginning of a change of heart" during their weekend visit to Baghdad, concrete measures must now be taken to assure the world that Iraq no longer has weapons of mass destruction, he said.
El Baradei is almost as much an idealist as Blixie. He just can't comprehend that he's being conned by the Iraqis.
With "certain capitals" showing growing impatience with Iraq, several steps should be evident by Friday, Mr El Baradei warned. Revealing the measures, Mr El Baradei said "full and active Iraqi cooperation" was vital if he and Mr Blix were to report the sort of progress that could convince the council to prolong inspections - and possibly defuse the crisis.

As well as overflights by the U-2s and a promise yesterday to bring in legislation banning weapons of mass destruction, the inspectors are seeking a verbal commitment by the Iraqi authorities to permit further unsupervised interviews of Iraqi scientists. It is hoped that some interviews will be carried out abroad.
I'd like to see Dr. Germ interview abroad with giggle juice and bagpipes on hand.
Iraq should also produce additional contemporaneous documentation such as invoices, inventories and government orders to prove the destruction of its anthrax and VX nerve gas. Such evidence would enable the inspectors to close files that have been outstanding for the past 12 years.
It says something that they can't close the files, eh, Guardian?
Posted by:Steve White

#2  That U2 overflight thing, has Sod'em also promised not to fire his pistol in the air when he thinks one is overhead? After all, among other things he has fired missiles upon UN overflights of the "no-fly [by Iraq]" zones. Especially when they flew over his military incursions into the areas.
Posted by: John Anderson   2003-02-12 01:07:53  

#1  I strenuously object to the wasteful and totally unnecessary expenditure of funds for giggle juice in light of the Bagpipes alternative.
Posted by: Ptah   2003-02-11 21:18:40  

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