Nation & world briefing
Three nations reject U.S. call to attack Iraq
Margaret Coker
Cox News Service (U-WIRE)
MOSCOW — The Bush adminis
tration failed over the weekend to
win support for military action in
Iraq from three key nations, further
complicating American diplomatic
efforts at the United Nations.
Russia, siding with France and
China, said Sunday that military in
tervention is not needed since Bagh
dad has already caved to internation
al pressure and will allow weapons
inspectors back into Iraq.
The White House sent diplomatic
missions to Paris, Moscow and Bei
jing over the weekend to urge these
permanent members of the U.N. Se
curity Council to back a new U.S.
draft proposal that would permit the
use of force against Iraq. President
George W. Bush said Saturday this
policy was in the “national
of the United
disarm and open all suspected
weapons sites to U.N. weapons inspec
tors. It also sets a 30-day deadline for
Iraq to make a full declaration of any
weapons of mass destruction pro
grams and authorizes a military attack
if Baghdad does not comply.
The United Nations says it still does
complete accounting of
were pulled out of
after Iraq’s fail
their demands.
States already has the
backing of Great Britain. However,
approval from France, Russia and
China—all of whom hold veto power
at the Security Council — is vital in
the White House’s attempt to achieve
international legitimacy for a war
against Saddam.
The Russian news agency Interfax
on Sunday quoted high-ranking
Kremlin officials as saying they were
“disappointed” with the U.S. draft.
France, Russia and China, who
conferred on the subject Thursday
and Friday, say they favor a two-step
Security Council plan against Iraq.
The three have said that they agree
that a new Security Council resolu
tion is needed to revise the mandate
for U.N. weapons inspectors. But
they will only consider a Security
Council resolution mandating force
against Baghdad after weapons in
spectors finished their job or if Sad
dam hindered their work.
U.N. weapons inspectors are sched
uled to return to Iraq in mid-October.
Margaret Coker can be reached
atiriegc@coxnews.com.
Saddam s
4
iance
Is for attacks
Ken Moritsugu
and Diego Ibarguen
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON—Iraq’s rejection of
any new conditions on U.N. weapons
inspections could play into President
George W. Bush’s hands as both Con
gress and the United Nations prepare
to grapple with the issue this week.
With congressional leaders set to
meet Monday to try to iron out differ
ences on a resolution authorizing
war, Iraq’s combative position could
push Congress toward approval of
such a resolution, a I >cmocratie sen
ator said Sunday.
Meanwhile, as Iraqi and U.N. offi
cials prepared to meet in Vienna on
Monday to try to agree on a resump
tion of weapons inspections, a Secu
rity Council member said that Iraq’s
stance underlines the need for a new
and tougher U.N. resolution on Iraq.
The Bush administration is push
ing hard for both resolutions Despite
continued objections by a handful of
Democrats, a congressional resolu
tion is widely expected to pass,
though disagreement remains on the
exact wording. The battle in the Unit
ed Nations is uphill. Many countries
want to give Iraq one more chance to
prove it has no weapons of mass de
struction before passing any resolu
tion that could set the stage for war.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin
Ramadan said Saturday that, his
country welcomed weapons inspec
tions under rules that existed when
the inspections ceased in 1998, but
would reject any new conditions.
The rejection indicated “a certain
arrogance” on the part of Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein, Sen. Christopher
Dodd, D-Conn., said Sunday.
"This latest reaction is not going
to help him in my view at all and
probably going to bring us closer to
support of a resolution in the Sen
ate and in the House,” lie said on
CBS’Face the Nation.
But Reps. David Bonior, D-Mich.,
Jim McDermott, D-Wash., after meet
ing with Iraqi officials in Baghdad, said
Sunday that both Congress and the
United Nations should hold off on any
new resolutions until Iraq tries to com
ply with U.N. weapons inspections.
“They should be given a chance,”
McDermott said in an interview on
ABC’s This Week with George
Stephanopoulos. “Otherwise, you’re
just trying to provoke them into war.”
© 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Israel leaves Arafat compound without ‘terrorists’
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
JERUSALEM — Bowing to Ameri
can pressure, Israeli military forces
withdrew Sunday from Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat’s ruined head
quarters in the West Bank city of Ra
mallah, but tanks and troops re
mained close, to keep watch on a
number of suspected terrorists inside.
White House spokesman Gordon
Johndroe said “the president wel
comes this development” and called
on Israel and Arafat “to live up to
their responsibilities to promote
peace, stability and reform in the
Palestinian Authority* ”
Administration officials had pres
sured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to
stop his assault on Arafat, launched
on Sept. 19 in response to two sui
cide bombings in Israel that killed
seven and injured dozens more.
Israeli troops in tanks and bulldoz
ers virtually demolished the sprawl
ing, one-block compound, leaving
only one building in which Arafat and
about 200 Palestinians were confined.
Besides wanting to force out
dozens of suspected terrorists Israeli
officials insist are inside with Arafat,
Sharon had hoped the demolition
would make it so uncomfortable for
the Palestinian leader that he would
leave the West Bank altogether.
Sharon and other hawkish govern
ment leaders have repeatedly ex
pressed a desire to expel Arafat from
the region because they believe him
to be the main force behind contin
ued terror attacks on Israelis.
But mounting pressure from the
Americans forced Sharon to capitu
late. At a Sunday morning meeting
of senior Israeli cabinet officials,
Sharon agreed to end the siege on
the day that coincidentally marked
the second anniversary of the cur
retit Palestinian uprising.
Arafat and other Palestinian offi
cials later complained the Israeli
withdrawal was incomplete, with
soldiers still roaming Ramallah in ar
mored vehicles and stopping anyone
who left Arafat’s compound to en
sure they were not on Israel’s list of
wanted Palestinians. A curfew was
imposed on Palestinians as dusk fell.
© 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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