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| Iraq |
| Russia ready for Iraq veto; Powell hints kickoff might be before 17th |
| 2003-03-10 |
| Russia has said it will vote against the new draft resolution on Iraq proposed by the United States and Britain. It is the first time that any permanent member of the Security Council has explicitly said it will veto the resolution. France and China have also made clear they are opposed to any war with Iraq. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the resolution, which sets a 17 March deadline for Iraq to disarm, was impossible to fulfil and went against the grain of the current resolution, 1441. "We believe that no new resolution is required at this time but that it is vital to provide comprehensive support to the IAEA and Unmovic inspectors," Mr Ivanov said. He was speaking as French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin embarked on a tour the three African members of the Security Council. Mr de Villepin is trying to win the support of Angola, Cameroon and Guinea ahead of the crucial vote in the Security Council. After talks in Luanda, Angolan Foreign Minister Joao Bernardo de Miranda, told reporters that Angola was not prepared to commit itself until it came to a Council vote. "Hell no, I'm having trouble concentrating on anything right now. That perfume nearly suffocated me.." Mr de Villepin told the same news conference that a solution to the crisis in Iraq could be found without resorting to the use of force. And what if Sadam won't listen to the faries or the pixies either, Dom? He has now gone The UK is sending its Minister for Africa, Baroness Amos, to the three countries Mr de Villepin is visiting. Our world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says the minister was in the same countries only the week before last, so her return is a sign of how intense the lobbying has become - and how intense the rivalry is between France and the UK. Washington and London are also offering concessions to win support in the Security Council. The UK says they could extend, though not by much, the draft resolution's deadline. Bad move. Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said the two countries would consider a timetable of detailed disarmament moves for Iraq to fulfil by 17 March. "The idea of putting key tests to key periods where [Iraqi leader] Saddam [Hussein] needs to comply is one being floated by some other council members," he said. "We are considering detailed indicators which would outline what Saddam has to do before next Monday's deadline." The new benchmarks are likely to be drawn from a document compiled by UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix which says Iraq has not fully disposed of its chemical and biological weapons arsenal. The new resolution was expected to be put to the vote as early as Tuesday, but there are now indications that it may be postponed until later in the week. In other developments: The head of Iraq's weapons monitoring team, General Hossam Mohammed Amin, says Baghdad will continue to co-operate with the UN disarmament process despite the US and British deadline of 17 March A convoy of UN vehicles carrying civilian staff is seen heading south from the Kuwaiti border with Iraq, as non-essential personnel are withdrawn from the area for their own safety War 'before' 17 March US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that the probability of war was rapidly increasing and he hinted that hostilities might begin before the new resolution's proposed 17 March deadline. As preparations continue, the US and UK have doubled their flights over Iraq's no-fly zones to as many as about 500 sorties a night and extended the number of targets hit. On Sunday night, allied aircraft are reported to have struck five unmanned, underground military communications sites about 96 kilometres (60 miles) south-east of Baghdad. The US Central Command said they helped guide Iraqi air defences, posing a threat to Western jets. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #1 I think that the diplo-game is over, kiddies. Bush is using this last little exercise for helping Blair and showing cards. Courting AnCamGin like a bunch of lobbyists is trying to buy loyalty and totally goes against the principles of why we fight, so to speak. We cannot depend up their loyalites. Play the hand, say the UNSC is full of it for the following reasons, blah blah blah, and do the mission and show the world what an empire of evil they support. Then go after the rest of the terror financiers and dry up the fetid swamp. Then take a coffee break. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-10 14:27:23 |