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EU warns Iraq it faces ‘last chance’
French President Jacques Chirac, left, shares a word with
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar prior to the EU summit
in Brussels on Monday.
Feb. 17 — European leaders united Monday behind a strongly worded
declaration warning Iraq that it faced a "last chance" to disarm
peacefully and affirming solidarity with the United States. NBC’s
Andrea Mitchell reports.
MSNBC NEWS SERVICES
Feb. 17 — European leaders united Monday behind a strongly worded
declaration warning Iraq that it faced a “last chance” to disarm
peacefully and affirming solidarity with the United States. Meanwhile, the
Iraqi government, hoping to stave off a U.S.-led attack, reported the
first flight by a U.S. U-2 surveillance plane Monday in support of the
U.N. inspections.
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“AT 11:55 A.M., a U-2 surveillance plane entered Iraqi airspace and
reconnoitered several areas of Iraq and left Iraqi airspace at 4:15 p.m.,”
the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The reconnaissance
operation lasted four hours and 20 minutes.”
Last week, the Iraqis agreed to allow U-2 flights, fulfilling a
major demand by U.N. inspectors seeking to determine if Iraq still harbors
weapons of mass destruction. The statement did not indicate what areas
were covered by the flight.
The move by Iraq came as the European Union agreed on a plan to
warn Iraq that it faced a “last chance” to disarm peacefully.
The declaration by 15 European Union leaders gave firm backing for
the U.S. and British demand for swift action to disarm Iraq. But it also
recognized the Franco-German drive for a peaceful solution, calling war “a
last resort.”
“Baghdad should have no illusions. It must disarm and cooperate
immediately and fully. The Iraqi regime alone will be responsible for the
consequences if it continues to flout the will of the international
community and does not take this last chance,” the leaders said in a joint
declaration.
POSSIBILITY OF MILITARY ACTION
France and Germany, who oppose war, appeared to emerge in a strong
position Monday night after the EU statement backed more time for the U.N.
weapons inspectors, without giving a deadline.
“They must be given the time and resources that the U.N. Security
Council believes they need,” the declaration said.
Germany went along with a statement that did not rule out military
action. But German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the EU adopted
compromise wording that omitted a warning that “time is rapidly running
out,” at German insistence.
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“We have never ruled out that war can be a last resort,” said the
chancellor, who last year insisted Germany would not support or
participate in military action even if it were endorsed by the U.N.
Security Council.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was convinced that Iraq
was already in breach of U.N. resolutions to disarm, but other EU nations
appeared to need time to reach the same decision.
“There’s still a lot of debate to be had on that issue,” Blair
said.
Seeking not only to mend rifts in the European Union, but also with
the United States, the leaders also gave the U.S. military buildup in the
Persian Gulf credit for forcing Saddam Hussein to work with U.N. weapons
inspectors.
“We are committed to working with all our partners, especially the
United States, for the disarmament of Iraq, for peace and stability in the
region,” the leaders said.
Earlier the summit appeared heading for a rupture after France
declared it would block any early move to war.
EU RIFT
With the split undermining EU unity and its ability to speak with a
single voice, Britain and France offered starkly different views, with
London calling for a swift deadline for action and Paris insisting on more
time to peacefully disarm Iraq.
The European Union
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President Jacques Chirac said France would oppose any effort to
draft a new U.N. resolution authorizing war at this time. France, Germany
and others say Iraq can be disarmed peacefully and must be given time.
“There is no need for a second resolution today, which France would
have no choice but to oppose,” said Chirac. France has a veto on the U.N.
Security Council.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said time was running out and the
EU must set limits on how much longer it will allow Iraq to remain
defiant.
“I think most people understand ... if that (disarming) cannot be
done peacefully, it must be done by force,” Blair said. “That’s why we
require a timetable,” he said.
SECOND U.N. RESOLUTION
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Britain and the United States, bracing for a heated debate on Iraq
at the United Nations, will push ahead this week with a new resolution
seeking authority to disarm Saddam Hussein forcefully, diplomats from the
two allies said Monday.
The resolution likely will be circulated Wednesday after two days
of open debate designed mostly to voice opposition to the Bush
administration’s Iraq policy.
The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they
expected Security Council negotiations on the draft to be wrapped up by
the time chief weapons inspector Hans Blix delivers his next report March
1.
Blix’s upcoming assessment will be delivered as a written report to
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council. The report then
will become an official U.N. document and be made public, but without the
fanfare of a televised appearance before a council chamber stacked with
foreign ministers, as happened last week.
European parliamentary leaders, who met with U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan before he entered the EU summit, said Annan stressed that he
did not want the weapons inspections to go on too long.
Officials in both capitals spent the weekend reworking what was
supposed to be a very tough, punchy resolution. Diplomats said the final
text will place Iraq in material breach of its obligations and reiterate
that Saddam now faces serious consequences. But it likely will not make an
explicit call to arms.
Last November, under U.S. pressure, the Security Council
unanimously approved a resolution that led to a resumption of arms
inspections after a four-year break and called for “serious consequences”
if Iraq failed to disarm or to prove it had no illegal weapons.
NATO resolves Turkey dispute
Feb. 16 — A dispute within NATO over providing Turkey with defensive
support was resolved Sunday when alliance ministers -- without
France -- took a vote. NBC’s Keith Miller reports.
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The divisions in the EU over a new U.N. resolution were also
reflected at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where Belgium, France and
Germany had held out for a month against 14 European allies — as well as
the United States and Canada — over starting defensive measures to protect
Turkey in case of an Iraq war. The stalemate had opened the biggest rift
in the West since the Cold War.
Germany and Belgium dropped their objections for a deal late
Sunday, but the only way NATO got the deal was by going to its Defense
Planning Committee, which Paris withdrew from in 1966, to negotiate an end
to the NATO deadlock. Paris participates only in political consultations.
“Alliance solidarity has prevailed. We have been able collectively
to overcome the impasse,” NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson declared.
Still, after the deal was reached, France, Germany and Belgium
issued a statement balancing their commitment to honor their defense
obligations with their desire to disarm Iraq peacefully.
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
TURKEY POSTPONES VOTE ON U.S. TROOPS
In a move that could hamper U.S. plans to open a northern front in
an Iraq war, Turkey’s prime minister on Monday ruled out a parliamentary
vote to allow tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops on its territory
until Turkish and U.S. officials agree on the conditions of the
deployment.
Parliament had been expected to vote Tuesday, and Washington has
warned Turkey that time is running out. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said
Turkey will send troops into Iraq if a war breaks out to prevent an influx
of Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq into his country.
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One of the main sticking points in U.S.-Turkish negotiations is the
economic aid package that would compensate Turkey for any losses incurred
in an Iraq war, diplomats said. There also are disagreements on military
issues such as the command structure in case of a joint Turkish-U.S.
operation in northern Iraq.
Gul also urged the European Union to prepare large-scale
humanitarian aid.
Gul said in the 1991 Gulf War to oust Iraq from Kuwait, “500,000
people came into Turkey in one night. We don’t want that to happen again.”
“We are of the belief that it will be difficult to convince
parliament before an agreement is reached,” Gul said earlier Monday,
before leaving for talks in Brussels on the Iraq crisis with EU leaders.
“We will again inform the United States of our concerns.”
The Turkish public is overwhelmingly against any war in Iraq.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Iraqi state television broadcast scenes of Iraqi troops in maneuvers to
defend the country from a possible U.S. attack. The report said the
maneuvers took place in the Iraqi desert but did not specify where or
when.
Arab foreign ministers could not agree Sunday on whether to hold an
emergency summit on the Iraqi crisis, spending most of the day disputing
whether Washington or Baghdad should do more to avert a possible war. Arab
League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the ministers had decided to
continue talks on convening a summit on Friday.
Kuwait shut down production at two small northern oil fields near its
tense border with Iraq as a security precaution ahead of a possible
U.S.-led war on Baghdad, an oil company official says.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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