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US Fails To Sway World Public Opinion About War In Iraq
There has been a mixed response to US Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the UN Security Council spelling out what he says is clear evidence Iraq is failing to disarm.
The UK's foreign secretary gave strong backing to the Washington line, but the other three key Council members - China, France and Russia, all said the inspectors should be given more time.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the international community had sent a clear message to Iraq, and it should listen carefully.
But Baghdad rejected Mr Powell's allegations, saying the goal was to sell the idea of war against Iraq, and said it would issue a detailed response later on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is to hold talks with the UN's chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, who is on his way back to Baghdad.
'Not an option'
Mr Powell warned a special session of the Security Council against any further delay in tackling what he called Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear arms ambitions.
"Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option," said Mr Powell
"This body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it allows Iraq to continue to defy its will without responding effectively and immediately," said Mr Powell. As Mr Powell presented his case to the UN, the Pentagon revealed that there are now more than 110,000 thousand US troops in the Gulf.
But the BBC's Justin Webb says Mr Powell is reported to be content to let the diplomatic process rest until Mr Blix reports back to the Security Council next week.
The Bush administration is claiming that some Council members expressed more support privately than they did in public, our correspondent says.
Delay warning
France, which has a veto in the Security Council, said that the work of the weapons inspectors had not yet run its course, and their numbers should be tripled if necessary
For now we must reinforce the inspection regime. The use of force can only be a final resort," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
In its first reaction to the presentation, Baghdad issued a blanket denial.
Adviser to President Saddam Hussein, Amer al-Saadi, said intercepts of alleged conversations between Iraqi officials cited by Mr Powell were "manufactured".
General al-Saadi dismissed other items contained in the US dossier, and said his government would issue a fuller rebuttal on Thursday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2731239.stm
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the international community had sent a clear message to Iraq, and it should listen carefully.
But Baghdad rejected Mr Powell's allegations, saying the goal was to sell the idea of war against Iraq, and said it would issue a detailed response later on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is to hold talks with the UN's chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, who is on his way back to Baghdad.
'Not an option'
Mr Powell warned a special session of the Security Council against any further delay in tackling what he called Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear arms ambitions.
"Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option," said Mr Powell
"This body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it allows Iraq to continue to defy its will without responding effectively and immediately," said Mr Powell. As Mr Powell presented his case to the UN, the Pentagon revealed that there are now more than 110,000 thousand US troops in the Gulf.
But the BBC's Justin Webb says Mr Powell is reported to be content to let the diplomatic process rest until Mr Blix reports back to the Security Council next week.
The Bush administration is claiming that some Council members expressed more support privately than they did in public, our correspondent says.
Delay warning
France, which has a veto in the Security Council, said that the work of the weapons inspectors had not yet run its course, and their numbers should be tripled if necessary
For now we must reinforce the inspection regime. The use of force can only be a final resort," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
In its first reaction to the presentation, Baghdad issued a blanket denial.
Adviser to President Saddam Hussein, Amer al-Saadi, said intercepts of alleged conversations between Iraqi officials cited by Mr Powell were "manufactured".
General al-Saadi dismissed other items contained in the US dossier, and said his government would issue a fuller rebuttal on Thursday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2731239.stm
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So now that the US looks like it can't convince the world that bombing civilians in Iraq is better than having weapons inspectors find and destroy Saddam's small arsenal, maybe Bush will switch gears and try to create a war with Korea?
Looking at some of the headlines one almost gets that impression. Things have geared up for a war so much, troops have been called and Iraq just doesnt look like a good place to bomb...
Looking at some of the headlines one almost gets that impression. Things have geared up for a war so much, troops have been called and Iraq just doesnt look like a good place to bomb...
Should the UN not appove using military action to enforce their own resolutions, they're going to make themselves even more irrelevant than they already are. Time to disband the UN and open the building up to office space for something productive.
Which resolutions are you talking about. All those that Israel has ignored?
Are you suggesting that the UN should now bomb Jerusalem?
Or are you very selective about which UN resolutions are supposed to be enforced?
hmm?
Are you suggesting that the UN should now bomb Jerusalem?
Or are you very selective about which UN resolutions are supposed to be enforced?
hmm?
yeah, Israel should be punished for not having "secure and recognized borders" and living under constant threat from Muslim extremists (also a violation).
So now that the US looks like it can't convince the world that bombing civilians in Iraq is better than having weapons inspectors find and destroy Saddam's small arsenal, maybe Bush will switch gears and try to create a war with Korea?
Exactly what world are you talking about. We have the explicit support of at least 35 countries. Even France is starting to waffle on it's silly pro-Iraq stance. So unless the world is primarily Germany and Iraq, i think you need to do a little more research.
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