U.S., Britain Delay Vote on Iraq at U.N.

11/03/2003| IslamWeb

Facing almost certain defeat, the United States and Britain delayed a vote to give Saddam Hussein  an ultimatum to disarm and signaled they might compromise to try to win support from Security Council members who oppose a rush to war. The Bush administration had talked of a vote as early as Tuesday, but with France and Russia threatening to veto the current draft resolution, and without the minimum nine "yes" votes, it held up action in the council.

Instead, council members agreed to hold another open meeting on the Iraq  crisis on Tuesday and Wednesday at the request of the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents about 115 mainly developing countries. Diplomats said it would likely delay a vote until Thursday at the earliest.

The open meeting will give nations from all parts of the world a chance to voice their views on an issue that has polarized the Security Council. It will also give supporters and opponents of the U.S.-backed resolution more time to lobby the half dozen undecided countries on the council.

President Bush  conducted an urgent phone campaign aimed at seeking support from world leaders for a March 17 deadline on Iraq. He talked to a host of top officials from Japan, China, South Africa, Oman, Spain and Turkey.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin  insisted to Bush that inspections in Iraq should continue and the standoff should be settled without military action, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Jiang told Bush there was "no need for any new resolution," said spokesman Kong Quan.

In the anti-war camp, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin traveled to Africa to meet with the leaders of Angola, Guinea and Cameroon - three important swing votes on the council.

Both the United States and Britain said they were willing to negotiate both the deadline and other changes to the resolution.

"We are busting a gut to see if we can get greater consensus in the council," said Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock. "We are examining whether a list of tests of Iraqi compliance would be a useful thing for the council. It doesn't mean there are any conclusions."

Several council nations complained that the March 17 deadline was too short for Iraq to demonstrate that it is disarming.

During a closed-door council meeting late Monday, diplomats said Greenstock suggested a two-phase approach to the draft resolution, which is cosponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain. Under the proposal, Saddam would have 10 days to prove that they have taken a "strategic decision" to disarm, which could be done with a series of tests or "benchmarks," council diplomats said.

If Iraq makes that decision, a second phase would begin with more time to verify Iraq's full disarmament, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There is a two-stage process," Greenstock said. "One is to be convinced that Iraq is cooperating, the other is to disarm Iraq completely."

Security Council ambassadors said Greenstock made clear the timeline would still be the end of March - meaning that the most time Iraq could hope to get would be about two weeks if the resolution passed this week.

Whether this slightly longer time frame for inspections is acceptable to the undecided nations - Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan - remains to be seen.

Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram said ambassadors from the six countries met Monday to search for a compromise and agreed to "explore the possibility of some sort of specific tasks which can be accomplished in a reasonable time."

Some countries suggested delaying the deadline by 30 or 45 days, Akram said, though it was clear that such a proposal stood no chance with the United States, as more than 250,000 American soldiers in the Persian Gulf are poised to attack.

French diplomats said the resolution would still mean authorizing war, which France is unwilling to do.

France and Russia announced Monday they would oppose the U.S.-backed resolution.

"No matter what the circumstances, France will vote 'no,'" Chirac said in a televised interview in France. "There is no cause for war to achieve the objective that we fixed - the disarmament of Iraq.

In Moscow, Russia's foreign minister Igor Ivanov said: "Russia will vote against this resolution."

Spain's U.N. Ambassador Inocencio Arias said his government didn't oppose giving more time for inspections.

"The vote will be the day we get nine or 10 votes, and I think we're getting close," he said.

But on the surface, at least, Monday was not a good day for supporters of the U.S.- backed draft.

Pakistani officials said for the first time publicly that their country, a key swing vote on the council, wouldn't support war with Iraq and would abstain from voting. And Chile, another vote which Washington is after, suggested it is not prepared to embrace the resolution without changes.

The resolution - which authorizes war anytime after March 17 unless Iraq proves before then that it has disarmed - requires nine "yes" votes. Approval also requires that France, Russia and China withhold their vetoes - either by abstaining or voting in favor.

The United States is assured the support of Britain, Spain and Bulgaria, with Cameroon and Mexico leaning heavily toward the U.S. position. But with Germany, Syria and now Pakistan preparing abstentions or "no" votes, Washington is left trying to canvass the support of Chile, Angola and Guinea.

PHOTO CAPTION

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations  John Negroponte speaks to the media prior to Security Council consulations on Iraq  at United Nations headquarters Monday, March 10, 2003. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwi