Posted on 10/16/2003 8:54:14 AM PDT by publius1
Security Council Adopts U.S. Plan for Iraq in 15-0 Vote By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: October 16, 2003
NITED NATIONS, Oct. 16 - The Security Council voted unanimously today to adopt a resolution on the future of Iraq. The 15-to-0 vote was a victory for the United States, but its impact was to some extent symbolic.
Hours before the Security Council acted, Russia, France and Germany, all of which opposed the war on Iraq, agreed to back the measure. But in a serious reservation, they said they would not go beyond the support they had already agreed upon in order to ease the burden of the American forces in Iraq.
The United States also won backing from China and Pakistan, and - perhaps most surprisingly - from Syria, the only Arab nation on the Security Council and a staunch opponent of the American-led war.
Pakistan, however, announced that it ``won't be able to contribute troops'' because a multinational force led by the United States that is created by the resolution does not have ``a separate and distinct identity'' from the coalition forces.
With the approval of the resolution, the United States and Britain win a sort of international assent to the political and military outcome of the Iraqi war, get approval of the multinational force and gain an endorsement for a political transition under the control of the American-led occupation authority.
But the resolution papers over the fundamental differences dividing the United States from many council members. It is unlikely to have much impact in winning new military forces beyond those that have already been committed, and financial contributions for Iraq's reconstruction.
The agreement on the vote by Germany, France and Russia came after a 45-minute conference call between the three countries' leaders: Chancellor Gerhard SchrÃoder of Germany, President Jacques Chirac of France and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
``We agreed that the resolution is really an important step in the right direction,'' Mr. SchrÃoder said in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting.
The chancellor said, however, that neither Germany, France nor Russia ``are in a position to engage ourselves militarily'' or with ``material engagement.'' And he added that not all disagreements over Iraq's reconstruction had been overcome. France and Germany said both countries would attend the donors' conference in Madrid next week, however.
Washington agreed late on Wednesday to postpone the vote until today to give Mr. Putin time to try to persuade France and Germany to accept the draft, diplomats here said. Mr. Putin was in Malaysia today for a summit meeting of Muslim countries.
John D. Negroponte, the American ambassador, said Wednesday night that the draft resolution included three last-minute amendments, two of which give Secretary General Kofi Annan greater freedom of action to assist Iraq's political reconstruction. Speaking of the new draft and postponement, Mr. Negroponte said, ``It proves we've been listening.''
The vote is a diplomatic victory for Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who brought the reluctant Security Council together without directly ceding any of the American-led coalition's control over Iraq's immediate political future.
Passage of the measure, which required a minimum of 9 votes in the council, had been assured since Washington engaged in intensive lobbying over the last five days.
But on Tuesday evening as many as five countries had indicated they were likely to abstain. Several abstentions would have clouded what otherwise represented a triumphant moment for the United States and Britain, sponsors of the resolution, along with Spain and Cameroon.
The dynamic shifted overnight, diplomats said on Wednesday, when China agreed to support the measure, and its diplomats began calling their counterparts on the Security Council seeking to bridge the final impasse, which left the United States, Britain and Spain refusing to include in the resolution any timetable for a transfer of power to the Iraqis, while Russia, France and Germany were insisting on just such a timetable.
The countries involved in the diplomatic maneuverings Wednesday were trying to synchronize divergent agendas. The United States was seeking the greatest possible majority among the 15 Security Council members for its plan to remain in control of Iraq until a constitution is drafted and ratified, elections are held, and a stable government is in place.
China, along with several of the smaller delegations, agreed with the Europeans' proposals but also felt that unity was crucial. The Chinese ambassador, Guangyo Wang, said Wednesday that he and his government tried to find a middle ground between Washington, which had almost closed the door on further negotiation, and the Europeans, who had made clear their plans to abstain.
Russia, France and Germany, which on Tuesday abandoned earlier demands for a quick transfer of power to an interim Iraqi authority and for United Nations control of the political transition, had submitted amendments to pin down an explicit timetable for the transition and to allow for the possibility of an earlier transfer of power to the Iraqis. On Tuesday, Washington rebuffed the core remaining demands while making other, minor concessions.
Russia, however, also wanted to find a formula to unify as much of the Council as possible, and offered a new, pared-down version of the amendments Wednesday. But it also wanted to maintain the united front with France and Germany that has been a fixture throughout the Iraq crisis.
The draft resolution, originally distributed to Security Council members six weeks ago, has been adjusted several times after both permanent and elected members of the council expressed grave reservations about the measure.
Dubya is no dummy.
I think the media and the 'rats have come to believe their own spin about Dubya's intelligence. But that's ok. Let them keep thinking he's stupid. It's so much fun to watch him blindside the lot of 'em just when they think they had him down.
Dubya is no dummy.
Unfortunately, with Ayatollah Sistani's fatwa that the constitutional convention must be elected, and the position of the Shiite members of Governing Council supporting this, the process may be fairly slow and there may not be final elections by next October.
I suspect the unspoken disputes lie with the cash stashed in the Food for OIl program, and France's, etc.'s claims on it to pay off Iraqi debts.
THE MIND BOGGLES! We had to get former (Russia) and *current* Communist countries to convince our "allies" the French and Germans to go along ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.