The Hindu : Bush for legislation to deal with Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002

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International

Bush for legislation to deal with Iraq

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington SEPT. 18. The Bush administration is insisting that the United Nations Security Council must come up with a new and tough resolution on Iraq, but other Permanent Members like Russia believe that this is not necessary now that Baghdad has agreed for the "unconditional'' return of weapons inspectors.

The differences in New York apart, the President, George W. Bush, is seriously working on Congressional leaders for a legislation that would allow him to use "all appropriate means'' to force Iraq to do away with its weapons of mass destruction. "For the sake of liberty and justice for all, the United Nations Security Council must act, must act in a way to hold this regime to account. It must not be fooled'', the President said in Nashville, Tennessee. The Pentagon has said that it is seeking to move a few B-2 Stealth Bombers closer to Iraq from their current base in Missouri. Washington is talking to London to see if a small contingent of these B-2s could be moved to the Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. This would cut in half the flight time of the B-2s to reach their targets inside Iraq. Also, the U.S. Navy is said to be in the process of contracting a commercial vessel to take military equipment to the Persian Gulf.

On Capitol Hill, the Democrats are increasingly wary that Iraq is taking over from other mainstream domestic issues prior to the Congressional elections. And many lawmakers are now veering round to the position that some sort of Congressional resolution was inevitable before lawmakers leave town next month to campaign for the elections of November 5.

"We have to assume the White House strategy is to push a resolution before Congress before the election. This is electoral politics'', remarked the Democratic Senator from Illinois, Richard Durbin. The Democrats, by and large, see where the White House is heading on the Congressional resolution; are frustrated and angry about it; but are unwilling to take on the Republican administration in full force.

The about turn by Iraq on the issue of the return of weapons inspectors has changed the nature of the game in New York with Russia and several Arab nations now arguing that the focus should be on the weapons inspectors returning to Iraq and doing their assessment as opposed to spending time drawing up a new resolution at the Security Council. "We cannot take a one and a quarter page letter as the end of the matter. We have seen this game before'' remarked the Secretary of State, Colin Powell.

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