Posted on 09/13/2002 2:47:08 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Foreign ministers of the U.N. Security Council's permanent five nations said Friday that Iraq's refusal to obey U.N. resolutions ``is a serious matter and that Iraq must comply.'' President Bush said he doubted increased pressure would make Saddam Hussein give up his weapons.
The foreign ministers' statement came after Bush pressed the Security Council for action.
Read by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, the statement said the ministers had begun consultations on how the Security Council could ``ensure implementation of its resolutions.''
Earlier Friday, Bush said it was ``highly doubtful'' that Saddam would give up on developing weapons of mass destruction, even as the administration began lobbying for a U.N. resolution containing fresh demands and Russia signaled it might lend its support.
Bush also wants congressional backing for possible military action against Iraq and he spoke mockingly of Democrats who have been holding back.
``Democrats waiting for the U.N. to act?'' Bush asked with chuckle. ``I can't imagine an elected ... member of the United States Senate or House of Representatives saying, 'I think I'm going to wait for the United Nations to make a decision.'''
Building the administration's case, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Washington that the United States has evidence Iraq has made mobile laboratories to make chemical or biological weapons.
Ivanov, in the midst of consultations with Secretary of State Colin Powell, said of Saddam: ``If he refuses to cooperate with the U.N. Security Council, the Iraqi government will take responsibility itself for possible consequences.''
Besides Russia and the United States, the other three permanent members are Britain, France and China.
While the Russian support could be a boost for Bush, who has said repeatedly that Saddam must go, the president was still struggling to draw support from Congress.
Democratic leaders said the administration must provide more information on threats posed by Saddam and on U.S. plans for removing the Iraqi president before Congress considers a resolution in support of military action.
``This is very serious business. Let's slow it down a bit,'' Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Friday.
``The president is doing this the right way,'' he added on CBS' ``The Early Show.'' But the Delaware Democrat also said, ``We should not try to rush history here.''
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said he would work with members of both parties to try to draw up a congressional resolution. The aim, he said, is ``the broadest possible bipartisan support for the president, as commander in chief, as he works to protect our nation and the world from Saddam Hussein.''
The U.N. resolution would set a deadline for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq and warn of serious consequences if Saddam continued to reject such an arrangement.
Turning the heat up on Saddam, Bush said, ``We're talking days and weeks, not months and years.''
``I am highly doubtful that he will meet our demands. I hope he does but I'm highly doubtful,'' Bush said as he wound up talks with foreign leaders.
Bush told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that if Iraq continued its defiance of international resolutions ``action will be unavoidable.''
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz dismissed Bush's speech, saying, ``The unconditional return of the inspectors will not solve the problem.''
Vice President Dick Cheney, on the Rush Limbaugh radio program, rejected any idea that the administration's Iraq policy was geared to elections in November.
``Every other year is an election year and you can't take half the calendar and put it off-limits. This is an issue the president and I have talked about now for months,'' he said.
Cheney said the administration expects to provide Congress with more evidence to back up its allegations about Saddam.
At the U.N., a U.S. diplomat said it was unlikely that a draft resolution would be ready before the middle of next week, noting that foreign ministers would need time to return home from the General Assembly debate and consult their governments.
Any one of the 15 Security Council nations can submit a draft resolution. Once a draft is submitted, unless there is immediate consensus, the process of private negotiations, consultations with capitals, rewrites and expert input begins. This could take days or weeks depending on the elements under dispute in the text.
The aim is to reach unanimous approval and avoid the possibility of a veto by one of the five permanent members.
Powell met with the 14 other members of the U.N. Security Council and found broad agreement that Iraq was not in compliance with U.N. resolutions and that the council must respond, said a senior administration official.
Powell also received a positive reception from Arab countries that are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Man of His Word!
He actually called my home the next day (I was out) and left a message thanking me for the compliment.
I don't know his party affiliation, but I think he is "one of the good guys".
It's over, then. The diplomats will waste some time with drafting the actual words, and France may still be sticking with their two-step approach, but it's over.
Then he was heard saying "tell that Clymer Dasshole to stick it where the sun don't shine."
I like President Bush more every day.
The wording of both these, and all the ones that preceded them, are radically different. The one most like the current one was passed in January, 1806, to declare war on the Barbary Pirates WITHOUT naming any target nation. It was, essentially, go get 'em wherever you find 'em.
Congressman Billybob
Click for major article on turnover in the House of Representatives: "Til Death Do Us Part."
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Wonder how long this will take?
UN Resolution Pool? LOL
There's more support for our Republican President in Russia than in our own Congress...
I never thought I'd live to see that day!
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