The Hindu : Powell firm on March 17 deadline

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 10, 2003

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International

Powell firm on March 17 deadline

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

New York March 9. As the diplomatic endgame is nearing on Iraq this week, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has held out the hope of the United States getting nine or ten votes in the Security Council. The top Bush administration official is not sure if the other permanent members would go along and not veto the second resolution.

In talk shows today, Gen. Powell was quite emphatic that the deadline of March 17, to comply with the demands of the United Nations, would not be changed. "That's the date in the resolution and I have no plans to change it,'' Gen. Powell remarked.

At the United Nations, diplomats were not certain if the U.S. can indeed pull it off with the nine needed votes. But top administration officials, such as Gen. Powell, are exuding confidence. The feeling was that the U.S. was in a "striking distance'' of winning passage. "I'm encouraged, we might get nine or ten votes needed to get passage of the resolution and we'll see if somebody wants to veto.''

The top administration official even while maintaining that he has been "encouraged'' by the discussions with a number of Council members has acknowledged that there are "...permanent members who are firmly against.''

Those who are in favour of the now amended second resolution are the U.S., Britain, Spain and Bulgaria. Those who are firmly opposed are Germany, France, Russia, China and Syria. And Pakistan, Cameroon, Chile, Angola, Guinea, Cameroon and Mexico are the "swing votes'' in the Council.

For a resolution to pass, the Council requires nine votes and no vetoes. Of the three permanent members that could veto the resolution, the U.S. is particularly concerned about France. The French have been quite vocal in their opposition to war against Iraq; and its Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, is travelling to Cameroon, Angola and Guinea to lobby support.

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