The Hindu : U.N. Council may set time-frame for Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 26, 2002

International

International

U.N. Council may set time-frame for Iraq

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

United Nations SEPT. 25. A draft Resolution of the United Nations Security Council on Iraq is expected to be in circulation as early as Wednesday but it is going to be several more days before any finality is reached on the wording and passage, diplomats here maintain.

The Bush administration was hopeful that a new Council Resolution on Iraq would be ready by the time the U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix, meets Iraqi officials next Tuesday in Vienna. The United Nations is awaiting word on the composition of the Iraqi delegation to the Vienna meeting, it was said here today. The United States wanted Mr. Blix to have a clear-cut message from the Council before he starts a dialogue with Iraqi officials on weapons inspections. He was expecting to have advance teams in Iraq on Oct. 15 to start preliminary inspections.

The United States not only needs the backing of the four other veto holding powers — Britain, France, Russia and China — but also the support of some of the other 10 non-permanent members.

A Resolution needs nine votes to pass without any veto. Thus far, no permanent member has said that they are going to outright press for a veto even if countries like France, Russia and China have serious reservations on the British-American initiatives.

Unnamed administration officials in Washington have been quoted as saying that the new Resolution on Iraq is going to be simple and straightforward — that is, calling on Baghdad to comply with the Resolution and within a specific time-frame. The Resolution will also warn the Iraqis of consequences. "The U.S. draft would declare Iraq in `material breach' of the Gulf War ceasefire terms, lay out the terms for new inspections and, in the last clause, say that failure to comply with these new requirements could open the door to all necessary means to force compliance'', an official has said. France is still said to be working on a draft that is two-phased. The first part of the French proposal is that Iraq must readmit weapons inspectors and agree to inspections without conditions and have Mr. Blix report to the Council on any non-compliance. The first phase of the proposal will not have any reference to the consequences of Iraqi non-compliance.

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