Posted on 18-10-2002

Bushed At U.N. - Iraq
By JULIA PRESTON, NYT 17 Oct02

(Photo shows Ambassador Mohammad Abdullah
Abulhasan of Kuwait who called on Washington to give weapons inspectors a
chance to disarm Iraq)

The US Bush administration's push for an early American-led war against
Iraq drew broad opposition today in an unusual open debate in the Security
Council. Many countries backed weapons inspections, and Arab states said
they would not support an attack without United Nations endorsement,
considering an attack only as a last resort.

In the first day of a special Council session, which was charged with the
sense that the basic shape of global security was at stake, Secretary
General Kofi Annan appealed to the Security Council to maintain unity,
warning that the United Nations would be seriously weakened by a rift.

Iraq defiantly denied charges, which were repeated frequently today, that
it had failed to comply with Council resolutions requiring it to give up
weapons of mass destruction. Iraq's ambassador, Mohammed Aldouri, called
the United Nations economic sanctions against his country an act of
genocide. He sharply rejected the American and British proposal for a new,
tougher resolution for Iraq to disarm, calling it "an insult to the
international community and the United Nations."

In Washington, President Bush warned European and Arab nations that are
resisting a confrontation with President Saddam Hussein that "those who
choose to live in denial may eventually be forced to live in fear." After a
meeting with the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mr. Bush said he fully
expected that Israel would retaliate for any unprovoked Iraqi attack. Mr.
Bush also painted a far more ominous picture than he has to date about the
dangers of allowing the debate in the United Nations to drag on for more
than a few weeks. "If Iraq gains even greater destructive power, nations in
the Middle East would face blackmail, intimidation or attack," he said in
the East Room, flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. "Chaos in that
region would be felt in Europe and beyond. And Iraq's combination of
weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorist groups and ballistic
missiles would threaten the peace and security of many nations."

The two-day public debate in the Security Council was called at the
insistence of the nonaligned movement, a loose coalition of developing
nations. Speakers today were from countries that do not hold seats on the
15-member Council, but were invited to join the debate. As intensive
negotiations over a new resolution among the five permanent, veto-bearing
Council powers dragged into the fifth week, the non-Council nations have
become exasperated that their views were not being considered and demanded
to be heard.

With no Council votes, the nations that spoke today cannot directly
influence the discussions on the resolution. But they included Egypt,
Kuwait, Turkey and other nations that could be directly involved if the
United States goes to war against Iraq, as well as the European Union,
Canada and other important American allies. The veto-bearing members of the
Council — the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France — are to
speak on Thursday.

The deadlock over the resolution continued today, with France and the
United States wrangling over the stage at which to authorize military
force. No meetings of the five permanent members to discuss Iraq were even
on the schedule.

Bush administration officials listened to the debate with only one ear,
focusing on the detailed discussions among the Council power players.
Washington remains determined to get a single resolution that would give it
authority to launch a military attack, administration officials said.

Mr. Annan, in a statement that was read in the Council as he traveled in
Asia, said he supported a new resolution to strengthen the weapons'
inspectors hands. He told Iraq that Baghdad was in violation of many
resolutions. "Iraq has to comply," Mr. Annan said bluntly, and he warned
that the Council would have to "face its responsibilities" if it did not, a
code word for war. But in a plea clearly directed at the United States and
France, Mr. Annan said, "If you allow yourselves to be divided, the
authority and credibility of this organization will undoubtedly suffer."
Mr. Annan's call for the Council to reach consensus was echoed by many
nations, as was his demand for Iraq meet its obligations to the Council.
There was also nearly unanimous support for allowing the United Nations
weapons inspectors to return as soon as possible to Iraq to search for
prohibited weapons programs. Many nations described the inspections as the
last chance to force Baghdad to give up its most dangerous weapons without
war.