POLITICS: Most World Leaders Choose Middle Road on Iraq Attack

By Marty Logan Reprint | | Print |

Marty Logan

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 13 2002 (IPS) - World leaders differed Friday on how to deal with a threatened U.S. attack on Iraq, but received no guidance from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, who gave no sign that they are near a decision on how to handle the situation.

On Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush told the U.N. General Assembly that he was prepared to work with the Security Council to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to abide by outstanding U.N. resolutions, adopted in the context of the 1991 Gulf War.

But results must be forthcoming, stated Bush. “The purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced, the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable.”

In speeches to the General Assembly on Friday, Australia was among the few that came close to echoing Bush’s tough line.

“This state of affairs cannot be left unresolved. Iraq must give immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to (U.N.) inspectors for all areas, facilities, equipment, records and Iraqi officials,” said Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

“Let us also be very clear,” he added. “Iraq’s flagrant and persistent defiance is a direct challenge to the United Nations, to the authority of the Security Council, to international law, and to the will of the international community.”

“We cannot stand by and allow ourselves to be ignored. Nor must protracted negotiations be allowed to weaken and eventually paralyse efforts to allay fears about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.”

Egypt was alone, among the more than a dozen heads of state and foreign ministers who addressed the General Assembly by mid-afternoon, in rejecting a U.S. attack outright.

“The discussion on security and stability in the Middle East also relates to the situation in Iraq, which must be dealt with in the context of the United Nations’ Charter and resolutions, to which all parties must respect and adhere, and away from a course of military action,” said the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Maher El Saved.

“Egypt thus affirms its rejection of inflicting military strikes against Iraq, whose unity and territorial integrity must be respected and who must for its part respect the legitimate international will.”

After a brief noon-hour meeting with Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and United States) released a short statement that gave no clues as to whether they will comply with Bush’s wish to act on the issue within days or, at most, a few weeks.

“The ministers agreed that Iraq’s non-compliance with the Security Council resolutions is a serious problem and that Iraq should implement these resolutions,” says the statement. “And today we started consultations to decide how the Security Council of the United Nations can tackle the problem to implement all the resolutions.”

In the wake of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of neighbouring Kuwait, the Security Council imposed an embargo against Iraq, setting a number of conditions for lifting the blockade, including the stipulation that Baghdad must permit international inspectors to monitor its weapons programmes.

The inspectors left Iraq nearly four years ago after continually being prevented from carrying out their work.

Most speakers on Friday echoed Annan, who told the General Assembly a day earlier that a multilateral approach, with the United Nations playing a central role, was the only legitimate way to deal with international security threats.

“It is important for the international community to continue to work together, and to engage more strenuously in diplomatic efforts through the United Nations. In doing so, we must pursue the adoption of necessary and appropriate Security Council resolutions as soon as possible,” said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

But Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hinted that he might support the Bush approach.

“We must make use of all diplomatic and political means available to redress this situation, but if things do not change substantially, it will be necessary to act within the framework of the United Nations to safeguard global security from a real threat.”

“When terrorist attacks or threats to peace are carried out by networks or regimes that aim at destroying our way of life and our liberal democracies, then democracies not only have the right but also the duty to defend themselves,” said Berlusconi.

Other leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had cloaked criticism for the unilateral approach being suggested by Bush.

“There is a growing perception — particularly among the weaker and poorer countries — that responses to issues of far-reaching impact often seem arbitrary or contradictory,” he said.

“A common destiny is at stake. The world needs collective multilateralism. It needs the United Nations, the coming together and working together of all its nations in the development of a common and collective perspective,” said India’s premier.

The United States announced Wednesday that it was moving 600 staff members from its Florida headquarters to Qatar, raising fears that armed U.S. action is imminent.

On Thursday, Bush set a number of conditions, based on previous Security Council resolutions, which Hussein must meet in order to avoid such action.

Iraq must immediately end all support for terrorism, disclose and destroy all of its weapons of mass destruction, cease persecution of Kurds and other minority groups in the country, account for all prisoners of war from the 1991 Gulf War and end illicit trade occurring outside of the U.N.-imposed “oil for food” programme, he said.

“If all these steps are taken, it will signal a new openness and accountability in Iraq. And it could open the prospect of the United Nations helping to build a government that represents all Iraqis — a government bas ed on respect for human rights, economic liberty, and internationally supervised elections,” said Bush.