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Date Posted: 14:58:00 02/16/03 Sun
Author: Rice toldNBC News that the time fordiplomacy is running out.
Subject: Feb. 16 — National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice slammed the United Nations Security Council
In reply to: February 16, 2003 's message, "Re:'Biggest-ever' rally says no to war streets of Sydney" on 00:57:29 02/16/03 Sun

U.S. takes Security Council to task



Call for new inspections
relieves pressure on Iraq
to disarm, Rice says
Feb. 16 -- "The Security Council has to be an instrument of peace, but it has to be an instrument of peace that has teeth, or it is never going to be able to deal with the myriad difficult actors out there," National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice tells NBC’s "Meet the Press."



MSNBC NEWS SERVICES
Feb. 16 — National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice slammed the United Nations Security Council on Sunday for its determination to extend weapons inspections, saying the delay relieves pressure on Iraq’s Saddam Hussein to disarm. The United States and Great Britain began reworking a draft resolution to authorize force against Iraq over the weekend, but Rice told NBC News that the time for diplomacy is running out.










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“THE U.N. Security Council is unfortunately getting a history of being unable to react,” Rice said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Key countries on the 15-member Security Council, particularly veto-carrying France, have pressed for U.N. inspectors to continue looking for banned weapons of mass destruction. But the United States says the inspections are failing and the world body should consider authorizing force to eliminate the threat it says Iraq’s weapons programs pose to nations around the world.
“Continuing to talk about more time and more time and more time is simply going to relieve pressure on the Iraqis to do what they must do,” Rice said.
While Rice said the United States had not set deadlines in its aim of disarming Iraq of banned weapons, she said that “it is time for this to end.”
“The president has made clear we are talking about weeks, not months,” Rice said. “We are in a diplomatic window, but not a window that can last much longer.”

ELBARADEI: IRAQ STILL NOT COOPERATING
That position was bolstered Sunday as Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief U.N. nuclear inspector, said Iraq is still not fully cooperating with inspections, a stance that could lead nations now opposed to using force against Iraq to a change of heart.
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ElBaradei, who with Hans Blix heads the U.N. search for banned weapons, told The Associated Press that the burden was on Iraq, not the U.N. inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction, to prove that it had nothing to hide.
“It is clear that the Security Council would like to give the inspections more time,” ElBaradei said as he flew to Vienna from New York. “Having said that, Iraq should not get the wrong message.”
“The Security Council is still very impatient, the Security Council believes that Iraq still is not cooperating the way it should cooperate,” he said.
Despite majority Security Council sentiment that inspections should continue for now, “everybody is of the view that force might not be excluded as a last resort, and everybody is also saying that Iraq has a limited time to comply,” ElBaradei said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell’s call for support for military action was rebuffed Friday in a stormy Security Council meeting. Most Council members aligned themselves with the foreign ministers of France, Russia and Germany, who called for more inspections after Blix and ElBaradei reported some progress.

NEW U.N. RESOLUTION





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Rattled by the outpouring of anti-war sentiment, the United States and Britain over the weekend reshaped the second draft resolution to authorize force against Saddam. But diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the final product may be a softer text that does not explicitly call for war, unlike the original planned draft.
Asked if the United States could count on enough votes for a new Iraq resolution to pass the Security Council, Rice replied, “We are prepared to work toward that end. We will see where we come out.”
Last November, under U.S. pressure, the council unanimously approved a resolution that led to a resumption of arms inspectors after a four-year break and called for “serious consequences” if Iraq failed to disarm or to prove it had no illegal weapons.


fact file
Broad range of views

How the Security Council feels about Iraq
Permanent members
• United States
• Russia
• China
• Britain
• France
Elected members
• Angola
• Bulgaria
• Cameroon
• Chile
• Guinea

• Germany
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Syria
• Spain


The United States: Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction, is failing to cooperate with weapons inspectors and is violating its obligations under U.N resolutions. Washington says it already has Security Council authorization to use military force to disarm Iraq.

Russia: Iraq is cooperating with inspectors and there is no evidence it is rearming. Russia wants economic sanctions, imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, to eventually be lifted and says the council must authorize any use of force.

China: Supports continued inspections.
Britain: Prefers a second Security Council resolution authorizing any military action, but is expected to join U.S.-led action without one. Says Iraq is not cooperating or disarming and that time is running out for it to do so through weapons inspections.

France: Says inspections are starting to work and sees no justification for military action now. Paris has hinted it could use its veto to block council authorization for military action at this stage.
Angola: Supports continued inspections in Iraq.
Bulgaria: Indicated it would support U.S.-led military intervention without a Security Council authorization.
Cameroon: Supports continued inspections and has not taken a position regarding military action.
Chile: Supports continued inspections and has not taken a position regarding military action.
Guinea: Supports continued inspections and has not taken a position regarding military action.
Germany: Insists Iraq must be disarmed peacefully and has said it will not participate in any military intervention, even if the Security Council authorizes such action.
Mexico: Supports continued weapons inspections and could support military intervention authorized by the Security Council.
Pakistan: Supports continued weapons inspections and a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.
Syria: Damascus says Iraq is cooperating with its obligations under U.N. resolutions and has called for U.N. sanctions to be lifted.
Spain: Supports the Bush administration’s stance on Iraq. Believes military intervention could proceed without Security Council authorization.


Last updated: Feb. 4, 2003
Source: The Associated Press
Printable version

Before Friday’s dramatic Security Council meeting, Washington and London had been preparing a toughly worded resolution to give them U.N. backing for military action.
But the measured reports by inspectors at Friday’s U.N. gathering, in addition to massive global protests against war, came as a blow to their plans.
On Tuesday, the Security Council is to hold an open meeting on Iraq, allowing non-council members to express their views about a possible war against Iraq. Diplomats say that by the middle of next week, Washington and London will have a better idea about how soon they can circulate a new draft.
A Monday meeting of the European Union will be the first opportunity to gauge readiness on the continent to negotiate a next step.

Anti-war protests continue


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NATO ambassadors, meantime, tried to make progress of their own Sunday, searching to break a deadlock over planning for the defense of Turkey in the event of a U.S.-led war against Iraq, but Belgium indicated that the talks were not going well.
With France still refusing to back a decision it sees as an implicit acceptance that war is inevitable, the 19-nation alliance took the Belgian-proposed compromise to its Defense Planning Committee — where France does not have a seat.
Turkey, the only NATO member to border Iraq, is widely seen as a potential launch pad for war. But France, Germany and Belgium plunged the alliance into crisis last week when they vetoed planning for its defense.
It was far from certain a deal could be clinched Sunday and diplomats said the crisis could roll on into the week, adding to tension over Iraq at a summit of European Union leaders on Monday.

TURKEY WAVERS ON U.S. TROOPS
The Netherlands has shipped three of its four Patriot anti-missile batteries to Turkey to help NATO’s only Muslim member-state defend itself in any U.S. war with Iraq, a defense ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
The move not only circumvents the current row over preparations for defending Turkey but also underlines Dutch support for Washington’s hawkish policy.
“The Patriot systems are shipped at Turkey’s request. This is a bilateral arrangement,” said Dutch defense ministry spokesman Hans van den Heuvel, adding that NATO approval was not necessary.






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Earlier this month, Turkey gave permission to U.S. personnel to upgrade its bases, and its parliament is scheduled to vote Tuesday to allow Washington to send thousands of troops to Turkey’s southern border with Iraq. But Turkey’s foreign minister said Sunday that a vote on allowing U.S. combat troops to use bases for possible attacks on Iraq could be delayed after NATO allies failed to agree on the size of an aid package.
“There are difficulties concerning the timing... . We have explained that we may not be able to bring the issue to parliament in a short period of time,” Yasar Yakis, the foreign minister, told reporters at Ankara airport after returning from Washington.
Turkish cooperation would allow the United States to open a northern front against Iraq. U.S. officials have said the move would shorten a war and have been pressing Turkish leaders relentlessly for backing.
Economy Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey and the United States failed to agree on the size of an aid package to cushion the frail Turkish economy from the effects of a possible conflict. Turks are overwhelmingly against a war and Turkish leaders repeatedly have sought to delay moves to support any U.S.-led Iraq operation.

ARAB SUMMIT
In the Mideast, an emergency Arab summit on the Iraqi crisis began Sunday — but was set for delay after disagreements arose between Arab foreign ministers over whether Washington or Baghdad should be doing more to avert war.



On Friday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called for a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik later this month. But foreign ministers meeting at the Cairo headquarters of the 22-member Arab League are split over what message a summit should deliver, according to an Arab diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
One camp, led by Syria, believes a summit should only be held to send a “strong message to the United States” reflecting Arab opposition to war in Iraq and U.S. policies in the region, the diplomat said.
Others believe the summit should send a pan-Arab message to Saddam Hussein urging him to cooperate with U.N. inspectors in Iraq searching for suspected weapons of mass destruction, the diplomat told The Associated Press.

MSNBC.com’s Rachel Elbaum, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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