U.S. resolution on Iraq may not go to UN vote

The International Herald Tribune ^ | March 12, 2003 | Timothy L. O'Brien / The New York Times

[MeekOneGOP]

U.S. resolution on Iraq may not go to UN vote

Timothy L. O'Brien The New York Times
Thursday, March 13, 2003

French veto feared, Spanish official says

 

UNITED NATIONS, New York A United States-led draft resolution to set the stage for a military confrontation with Iraq may not be put to a vote before the United Nations Security Council because of a French threat to veto the measure, Spain's foreign minister told reporters in Madrid on Wednesday.

"Clearly, not putting it to a vote is a possibility which is being considered," said Ana Palacio, the foreign minister. "We are considering it, above all in view of the already absolute and emphatic affirmation by France of a veto, because a veto is undoubtedly something which has consequences for the United Nations system."

A Foreign Ministry spokesman later played down Palacio's remarks, saying that she "was only referring to a hypothetical situation in the sense that there is a very distant possibility that a second resolution might not be presented." The Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, echoed those remarks in a speech to Parliament as his government sought to distance itself from Palacio's comments. "I will not resign myself to the United Nations Security Council showing itself to be incapable of complying with resolutions it was capable of passing unanimously," Reuters quoted him as saying. "We are working so that the Security Council maintains its respect, its credibility and that it be a guarantor for peace and world security." Nonetheless, Spain is a sponsor of the draft resolution, along with Britain and the United States, and Palacio's comments add a new level of uncertainty to the measure's chances of passing muster within the Security Council. The draft resolution, which finds Iraq in breach of UN requirements that it disarm, requires approval from nine of the Security Council's 15 members to pass. All five of the council's permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States can independently veto a resolution by voting against it.

The draft resolution was expected to be put to a vote Tuesday, but that was cancelled after the United States realized it did not have the necessary votes to secure its passage. Although there was talk here Wednesday that the measure might be voted upon Thursday, diplomats say that it is likely to be Friday at the earliest before votes are taken. The White House has insisted it wants a vote this week, despite the fact that France and Russia have said they will veto it, and China may do so as well.

Palacio made her comments after returning from a diplomatic trip to Paris where she met with the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin. The French official has been one of the most outspoken critics of the use of force in Iraq and has repeatedly called for continued weapons inspections by UN teams.

UN delegates have been working furiously to revise the draft resolution's language in order to make it palatable to all sides in the Iraq debate. While the British originally proposed March 17 as a deadline for Baghdad to disarm, Britain and the United States have said they would be willing to extend that deadline a few days. Britain has proposed a set of six guidelines to measure Iraqi compliance with disarmament mandates, but those guidelines still have not been included in a revised version of the draft resolution.

Lobbying and consultations were carried out at the highest levels here on Wednesday. The UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, lined up dual meetings with Hans Blix, the influential head of the UN inspection teams scouring Iraq for information on Baghdad's chemical and biological weapons programs, and with Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's UN ambassador.

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, reaffirmed WednesdayPresident George W. Bush's desire for a quick resolution to the debate. "The president has given diplomacy a certain amount of time," he said. "He will not give it forever."

Copyright © 2002 The International Herald Tribune

[MeekOneGOP]

President Bush e-mail to Hans Blix:

Dear Hans:

Please contact your Weapons Inspectors in Iraq and tell them they have been granted leave. You might suggest them to do so "immediately".

[Bigg Red]

"We are working so that the Security Council maintains its respect, its credibility and that it be a guarantor for peace and world security."

Too late for that -- by about 30 years.

[ez]

Time to table the resolution and blame France's veto.

[mhking]

No problem. We don't need it. Let's roll.

[MeekOneGOP]

This should be decided by the morning if President Bush is going to withdraw it.

This could get interesting, and real quick too . . .

[MeekOneGOP]

I agree !

[Scott from the Left Coast]

We don't need it. Let's roll.

Not only not needing it...we're a damn sight better without it.

[KaiserofKrunch]

Let's roll. I hope the French are happy about destroying the UN, NATO, their hegemony over the EU, and their relationship with the U.S. To quote a great president, "we will not forgive and we will not forget."

As many have suggested to France, prepare to reap the whirlwind.

Boycott all amphibian products!

[MeekOneGOP]

It will be interesting to see if Bush demands the vote or pulls the resolution back. I have no idea which he'll do, but I bet he's praying for help right now making the decision . . .

[TSgt]

My only concern for not getting everyone on record would be that Bush stated in so many words or less that they would have to, "show their cards."

I'm thinking that going this far without a vote puts us in an even weaker position.

Either way I'm on board with your assertion:

LET'S ROLL!

[Scott from the Left Coast]

It will be interesting to see if Bush demands the vote or pulls the resolution back. I have no idea which he'll do, but I bet he's praying for help right now making the decision . . .

That is the easy decision, because in the end it makes no substantive difference. The decision that matters is the decision to go it alone (attack) without U.N. backing, and with the rest of the world and the left here at home going beserk over it -- that's the one that requires the Titanium Backbone.

[MeekOneGOP]

Yep. I wore this to lunch today at a restaurant and got TWO THUMBS UP before being seated at a table. . .

Bigger than France

[Scott from the Left Coast]

At the very least, France has laid their's on the table.

[CatOwner]

Blah, blah, blah. How many of these articles are we going to see posted? They say the same thing over, and over, and over, and over ...

No more! Either take out Saddam or bring the troops home.

[the_doc]

I say that there will be a vote.

[MeekOneGOP]

Patience is required. Pray for President Bush and the troops who have their bu**s on the line. . .

[EternalVigilance]

Since many are growing understandably impatient with the seeming delays in launching the liberation of Iraq, I dug up a couple of my favorite quotes to encourage everyone to be patient:

"He that can have patience, can have what he will."
-Benjamin Franklin

"How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees."
-William Shakespeare

"There is no great achievement that is not the result of patient working and waiting."
-J.G. Holland

"Patience and time do more than strength or passion."
-La Fontaine

"Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius."
-Buffon

"Beware the fury of a patient man."
-Dryden

The President and his team are not going to let us down...

[CatOwner]

I can understand patience. The problem is the longer we wait, the more these same articles get posted and the more we have to listen to the anti-war crowd. If everyone would just shut up, I could wait indefinitely.

This will be the most over-analyzed non-war in history. It will also be talked to death, sort of like the RATs during the Clinton administration on the weekend shows. By the time Monday rolls around, the truth is gone.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you !!

[MeekOneGOP]

The President and his team are not going to let us down...

I'm glad to see someone else gets it !!