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| Europe |
| Bush call to lift sanctions on Iraq leaves EU cold |
| 2003-04-17 |
| A United States call to lift United Nations sanctions on Iraq drew cool reactions on Thursday, including a Russian warning against the plan. We guessed that. Kofi was "taking their temperature" a few days ago... Diplomats warned that securing an accord may be difficult. European Union leaders urged the US to let the United Nations and EU help rebuild Iraq. The leaders, eager to bring international organisations back into play in the Iraq crisis called for "a central role" for the UN and a significant EU part in reconstruction that Washington is determined to dominate. That's because they played such a significant part in the liberation... Moscow, a fierce opponent of the US-led war, said the US suggestion appeared âmercenaryâ. French President Jacques Chirac, who also opposed the war, insisted that the United Nations must decide exactly how sanctions on Iraq should be lifted, after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government. Since the conditions that gave rise to the sanctions are now gone, how's that make us "mercenary"? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #6 Let the U.N.S.C.veto a British led resolution lifting the Sanctions(they [Brits]are getting way to little recognition for thier help).Let the U.N.S.C.& AoW use thier veto.Talk about a public relations nightmare,after all the U.S. caught a hell of a lot of flak from keeping them in place. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-04-18 07:46:07 |
| #5 France, Germany and Russia abided by the sanctions so well, too. George Bush should hire 30 oil tankers and start shipping crude, priced on the spot market. We finally gave up trying to play games and eliminated Saddam with our allies. We'll do as France, Russia, Syria, and Germany did, and ignore the sanctions. Sanctions only work when there's a strong enough force to make them work. We've just proven that there's no one that has a force strong enough to oppose us. The sanctions are like the UNSC - dead. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-17 21:43:42 |
| #4 W should give another speech to the Iraqis and mention this. He should then suggest that the Iraqis express their thoughts to those in the UN who are in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-17 21:36:59 |
| #3 If it's the only chip you can still play, you're going to try to make the most of it. I guess they don't realize that this makes them look even more petty than they did before. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-04-17 21:24:48 |
| #2 Goody! I hope they dig their heals in. This is really a stupid battle for the EU/UN to fight -- how could any reasonable body be against lifting sanctions now that the regime whose actions led to them is history? Is the outcome of any standoff with the US at all in doubt? The EU and Russia continue to prove their unfitness to be players on the international stage while simultaneously sounding the death knell for the |
| Posted by: John Phares 2003-04-17 21:20:36 |
| #1 You can't fault them for trying. They want to play the same veto game we did a month or two ago (seems so long ago). The AoW wants a quid for our pro quo or they veto so it is no go for the UNSC, as it sits---rapidly becoming a derelict hulk on a sandbar on the river of progress....ehh hrrm mmmm hmm. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-17 20:59:29 |