Bush, Blair give Saddam 21 days to disarm or face war

The Times of India ^ | 2/21/03

[areafiftyone]

LONDON: In a significant trans-Atlantic pincer movement to make the case for war, US secretary of state Colin Powell has given British television viewers advance notice of next week’s second United Nations resolution, while America’s chief ally, Tony Blair, canvasses support on the European mainland.

In a rare interview to the BBC, billed by the organisation as "exclusive", Powell revealed that the second UN resolution would contain no deadline and would not authorise or specify military action.

Meanwhile, in an apparent quickening of the pace to war, President Bush and Blair are reported by at least one British paper to have decided on a 21-day deadline.

The paper said the two men, who had a 30-minute telephone conversation on Thursday, had agreed to give Saddam Hussein until March 14 to disarm or face war.

The two men were reported to have put in place the "endgame" in the long stand-off with Baghdad.

In an orchestrated initiative, late on Friday, British foreign secretary Jack Straw made a hard-edged "moral case for war", ahead of Blair’s Saturday meeting with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.

The Pope has spoken out against war and a reluctant Vatican is understood to have granted Blair an audience, only to appear even-handed.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz was given an unprecedented half-hour meeting with the Holy Father last week.

The rising rhetoric of a "moral war" comes as the heads of both the Catholic Church and of 70 million Anglican Christians around the world, have firmly rejected the morality of bombing Baghdad into submission.

On Thursday night, Powell, who spoke with quiet intensity, insisted a second UN resolution did not need to authorise the use of force. That hurdle had already been crossed, Powell indicated.

The new resolution, he said, would "summarise the situation... as it exists - show that Iraq is not in compliance …will point out that lack of co-operation".

Military force had already been authorised by the six-page UN Security Council resolution 1441 unanimously passed last November, Powell said.

He said the resolution would probably not contain a specific deadline for Iraqi compliance, but added the mantra: "Clearly time is running out…"

In the British government’s most outspoken attack on last weekend’s unprecedented anti-war protests in Britain and around the world, Jack Straw criticised the demonstrators’ "relativist nonsense" about human rights abuse.

Saddam’s was a brutal regime, he said and it was not enough to say Iraq should not be invaded because human rights abuse occurred in other countries as well.

[Beck_isright]

Yawn. Let the french veto the resolution next Tuesday and begin bombing on Sunday. This is just getting absurd. Next thing you know we're going to have to wait for the migration of the Iraqi Spotted Desert Owl so we don't have the Sierra Club mad at W. Just pull the damn trigger or at least email all GOP contributors with a legitimate start date so we can short the S&P indexes.

[Beck_isright]

Uh, Mulder, they have smallpox. Thanks to our friends the Soviets, er Russians.

[CyberAnt]

Nothing special - just tooooo far away - I'm ready now!!!

Of course, the fact I'm ready, means nothing - I realize that!

[Mr. Mojo]

Gotcha. ....And I agree.

[MJY1288]

21 days from Monday will fall during the week of the new moon and the darkest period of the month

[xm177e2]

Too damn long.

I'm not so sure taking our time is a bad idea. Saddam has had a decade to prepare for this invasion, a few more weeks won't help him all that much. But during that time, we can move covert units in, carry out special ops, and encourage high-ranking officials to defect. It's possible that we can undermine Saddam more than the extra preparation time helps him.

[Mulder]

With each passing day and each passing resolution (none of which are enforced), it becomes more and more apparent how irrelevant the UN is.

Wolfowitz gave a recent speech in which the UN (or a UN resolution) was mentioned over 40 times. The US Constitution and the US Congress was mentioned 0 times. If that isn't legitimizing the UN at the expense of our soverignerty(sp), I don't know what is.

And who is the UN becoming "irrelevant" to? Certainly not the administration or the Congress who keeps throwing boatloads of dollars their way.

Maybe I'll believe your "irrelevance" theory when Bush and Congressional leaders get behind a bill to withdraw from the UN. Otherwise, I'll treat it as just another delusion by those who believe Bush is a real conservative.

[blam]

'Agent Defeat Weapons' ready for use

[Mr. Mojo]

No, March 14 is near the full moon. ....The next new moon after March 2 will be 29.5 days later, in early April.

[Mulder]

Uh, Mulder, they have smallpox.

So why the delay in going in there and destroying it?

[Humidston]

21 days............ Ohhh PULEEEEEEEEZE!!!!!!

[First_Salute]

In keeping with Bush's practice to get at some portion of what he's after, just as he has done with the Democrats in the Congress, he may settle for the same with Saddam.

[Bogey78O]

Nope, the next new moon is at the end of February- beginning of March.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thank you!

Ping for some hot news!

[Beck_isright]

I respectfully disagree. If he sees that he's going to get 21 more days, he'll have that much more time to wire the pipelines. The scorched earth strategy doesn't take much preperation. We might win the oil fields but it could take 5 years to bring them back on line. And with the House of Saud somewhat destablized, this is not good for our economy in the least.

[MJY1288]

Prescott Bush? How does he fit into this, Good grief, I don't think we even had satellite guidence technoligy back when Prescott Bush was around.

Please enlighten me with some links or articles to back up your claim

[maestro]

Your#45)................BTTT

Julius Caesar.......the "Ides of March"........

:-(

[Beck_isright]

" So why the delay in going in there and destroying it?"

My question to the administration and has been for months. It must be found before the "jihad nuts" infect themselves and mingle throughout the West. I fear it's too late though and they are here already, thus the panic about smallpox domestically.

[philetus]

Is that 21 workdays?
Do holidays count?

[Beck_isright]

Actually I think the deadline includes the restriction that we can only attack on an even numbered day, after 4 p.m. Baghdad time and after 48 hours notice, and only if there are red and pink elephants parading through the middle of the country. Other than that, it's a green light baby!