'No justification for war', say UN allies
France, Germany, Russia and China have made clear that they will not be rushed by Washington’s timetable for war on Iraq.
Despite US efforts to convince the world that Iraq is failing to cooperate with weapons inspectors, many Security Council members believe just the opposite - that the inspections are starting to work and Iraq can be disarmed peacefully.
“The real situation shows that inspections are going on and so the resolution is being implemented. There are some problems which are solvable and yesterday the Iraqis expressed their goodwill for further co-operation with the inspectors,” Russian Deputy Ambassador Gennady Gatilov said yesterday.
“I think the sense of the council is that the majority is against military action.”
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said yesterday that Germany is not ready to back any fresh UN resolution legitimising war on Iraq and would not send any troops to fight in the Gulf region.
“Don’t expect Germany to approve a resolution legitimising war, don’t expect it,” Mr Schroeder said at a rally for his party in Germany.
Britain is the only major military power virtually certain to join the US, having called up 26,000 soldiers for duty in the Gulf. Other countries with smaller armies, such as Australia, Canada and Bulgaria, could provide supporting military roles in a “coalition of the willing”. But traditional allies such as France, which fought alongside US troops in the 1991 Gulf War, as well as in Kosovo and Afghanistan, are unlikely to join any military conflict at this stage.
For Washington and London, Iraq’s pledge on Monday to co-operate more closely with inspectors only strengthened their claims that Baghdad isn’t complying. Both countries plan to push that message after inspectors present a report next Monday assessing Iraq’s co-operation after two months of inspections.
If the council judges Iraq’s co-operation to be poor, that could set the stage for war. But it seems increasingly unlikely that a majority of the council would vote that way. France hinted this week that it might use its veto to block any authorisation for war.
“We see no justification right now for any military action,” French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin said yesterday in Belgium.
Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel agreed, adding that Belgium shared France’s view that more time was needed for the weapons inspectors. “We still believe there is time for UN inspectors to carry out their work,” Mr Michel said.
In Washington, US President George W Bush responded with impatience. “Surely our friends have learned lessons from the past,” he said.
Saddam has “been given ample time to disarm. This business about more time. How much time do we need to see clearly that he’s not disarming?”
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the US could go to war with a select group of allies, even without Security Council approval. But he declined to name countries that have allegedly pledged their support.
Instead, he reiterated Mr Bush’s efforts to work through the UN. It was the President’s September 12 speech to the world body that pushed Iraq into accepting the return of weapons inspectors after a four-year absence.
But several UN diplomats said privately they resent the US approach.
“The Americans came here saying that if we don’t buy their line then they’re going ahead anyway and people are feeling very snubbed by that attitude,” one Western diplomat said. “And so the response is that we’re not going to give Washington the blank cheque that they’re looking for.”
