Saddam changes tack on UN

BBC News Online ^ | 11/04/2002

[GeneD]

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has said that Iraq will consider a new UN Security Council resolution on disarmament, as long as it does not serve as an excuse for US military action.

"If a resolution is issued which respects the UN charter, international law and Iraq's sovereignty, security and independence, and does not provide a cover for America's ill intentions, we will view it in a way that makes us deal with it," he told visiting Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider.

The news comes as US President George W Bush met his top security advisors in an effort to decide on changes to a draft resolution on Iraq, which the US is to present to the Council at some point this week.

However the Iraqi president reiterated his statement that there is "no need" for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution.

Iraq has already said it will allow UN weapons inspectors to return under the terms of existing UN resolutions.

But it has insisted in the past that it would not accept any new UN resolutions.

Last month Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told the BBC that existing agreements were already unprecedented in their intrusiveness and complexity.

UN progress

Diplomats say that there has been progress within the Security Council regarding the draft resolution but that there is still disagreement over the issue of "automaticity".

This refers to French and Russian fears that a resolution would give an automatic right to the United States and Britain to launch an attack if they decided that Iraq had not complied with the tough new conditions the US and Britain want the resolution to lay out.

On Friday Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov said that there had been progress in the discussions but crucial differences remained over the use of force should the Iraqi leader not comply.

"We insist that in case problems come up with the inspectors' activity and Iraq violates the UN Security Council's decisions, this question be returned to the Security Council and be carefully examined there, in order to decide on how to proceed further," Mr Ivanov said.

[RetiredArmy]

Forget airstrikes on Iraq! I think the UN is a more deadly enemy of the USA than Iraq. The US military should be looking there for it's next attack.

[MEGoody]

It's time to set some deadlines. One more week to allow them to come up with a resolution. Then two weeks for Saddam to allow the inspectors in. If the deadlines aren't met, we go in.

[struwwelpeter]

To hell with the whole thing. Pull back all the troops, burn down the UN, and make it known to all that one parking ticket by a Muslim anywhere in the world and Mecca is glass.

And that goes double for the French.

[Publius6961]

"If a resolution is issued which respects the UN charter ,[adopt every resolution introduced by the Islamomaniacs at the UN], international law [That be sharia, let’s be clear]and Iraq's sovereignty [we get to decide where they look, security [we get to decide where they look and when] and independence, [[we get to decide how they look, and they can’t check the back doors] ] and does not provide a cover for America's ill intentions, [We need more time to make more “Baby Milk Plant” signs] we will view it in a way that makes us deal with it," he told visiting Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider.