Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
FOR U.S. EYES ONLY
America whisks away the ONLY copy of Iraq arms dossier .. because 'we have got the best photocopiers'
UN officials were furious last night after America whisked the only copy of Iraq's weapons declaration to Washington for checks.
Officials said the move was because the US had better photocopying facilities.
An aide to President George Bush said last night: "It's already in Washington."
White House staff will send edited copies of the declaration to the other four permanent UN Security Council members, Britain, France, Russia and China.
Taking the 12,000-page document to America goes against what the 15-member council had agreed on Friday.
At a meeting members decided to leave the report in the hands of UN arms inspectors until it was screened for possible nuclear secrets - a process expected to take days. A spokesman said: "The spirit of the conversation on Friday was to keep the material out of the hands of non-nuclear powers.''
But the council changed it's mind late on Sunday over distribution.
Syria and Mexico were both unhappy over the decision. Angry UN officials for both countries said the document should have been sent to all members at the same time.
Baghdad insists the declaration shows it has no weapons of mass destruction.
The news comes as Iraqi opposition groups which have have patched up their long-standing differences united in an effort to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.
The groups - led by the Iraqi National Congress - met for talks in Iran days before a London meeting this weekend.
INC chief Ahmad Chalabi said: "The united meeting should discuss the future of Iraq so we can proceed with removing Saddam."
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament yesterday launched an unprecedented legal action to stop the Government joining a US-led Iraq war.
The group asked the High Court to intervene before it is "too late" and prevent Tony Blair from sending UK troops into battle without a fresh UN resolution.
CND's legal team is led by Rabinder Singh, a barrister colleague of Cherie Blair. He argued there was a "general principle of international law" banning the use of force unless it was in self-defence or authorised by the Security Council - neither of which is the case with Iraq.
Outside the court in London, anti-war Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said: "I am hopeful we have a strong case that the Government is acting illegally in pursuit of an attack on Iraq."
The judges said they found the arguments for making the order "compelling".
It is the first time a government has been challenged in the courts over a declaration of war.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12441697&method=full&siteid=50143
Officials said the move was because the US had better photocopying facilities.
An aide to President George Bush said last night: "It's already in Washington."
White House staff will send edited copies of the declaration to the other four permanent UN Security Council members, Britain, France, Russia and China.
Taking the 12,000-page document to America goes against what the 15-member council had agreed on Friday.
At a meeting members decided to leave the report in the hands of UN arms inspectors until it was screened for possible nuclear secrets - a process expected to take days. A spokesman said: "The spirit of the conversation on Friday was to keep the material out of the hands of non-nuclear powers.''
But the council changed it's mind late on Sunday over distribution.
Syria and Mexico were both unhappy over the decision. Angry UN officials for both countries said the document should have been sent to all members at the same time.
Baghdad insists the declaration shows it has no weapons of mass destruction.
The news comes as Iraqi opposition groups which have have patched up their long-standing differences united in an effort to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.
The groups - led by the Iraqi National Congress - met for talks in Iran days before a London meeting this weekend.
INC chief Ahmad Chalabi said: "The united meeting should discuss the future of Iraq so we can proceed with removing Saddam."
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament yesterday launched an unprecedented legal action to stop the Government joining a US-led Iraq war.
The group asked the High Court to intervene before it is "too late" and prevent Tony Blair from sending UK troops into battle without a fresh UN resolution.
CND's legal team is led by Rabinder Singh, a barrister colleague of Cherie Blair. He argued there was a "general principle of international law" banning the use of force unless it was in self-defence or authorised by the Security Council - neither of which is the case with Iraq.
Outside the court in London, anti-war Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said: "I am hopeful we have a strong case that the Government is acting illegally in pursuit of an attack on Iraq."
The judges said they found the arguments for making the order "compelling".
It is the first time a government has been challenged in the courts over a declaration of war.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12441697&method=full&siteid=50143
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
"For technical reasons and for security, the copies were made in Washington," he said. "They were done as quickly as possible and in the requisite conditions of security." US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said earlier that the United States had been asked to make copies of the document -- running to 12,000 printed pages and several computer disks -- for other council members.
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?gid=&id=103222
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?gid=&id=103222
Iraq said the United States had engaged in "unprecedented extortion" by taking the only copy of Baghdad's arms declaration to the UN Security Council, claiming Washington might alter the report as a cover for launching a military attack.
The United States took the only copy of the document from the United Nations on Monday to make copies in Washington for distribution to the other four permanent members of the Security Council, Britain, France, Russia and China.
"This is unprecedented extortion in the history of the United Nations, when it (US) forced the president of the Security Council to give it the real copy of Iraq's declaration ... in contradiction with the agreement by all member of Security Council on Dec. 6," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press.
"Above all of this, this American behavior aims to play with the United Nations' documents with the aim of finding a cover for aggression against Iraq...," the statement said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1039503966991
The United States took the only copy of the document from the United Nations on Monday to make copies in Washington for distribution to the other four permanent members of the Security Council, Britain, France, Russia and China.
"This is unprecedented extortion in the history of the United Nations, when it (US) forced the president of the Security Council to give it the real copy of Iraq's declaration ... in contradiction with the agreement by all member of Security Council on Dec. 6," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press.
"Above all of this, this American behavior aims to play with the United Nations' documents with the aim of finding a cover for aggression against Iraq...," the statement said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1039503966991
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$190.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network