The Hindu : Bush may soften stand on Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 20, 2002

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Bush may soften stand on Iraq

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

UNITED NATIONS OCT. 19. With objections from the key permanent members having been overcome, the United Nations Security Council is expected to pass a new resolution on Iraq sometime next week. The new draft proposal of the United States is being received positively by France, which has been a tough hold-out over the last four weeks.

The Bush administration will formally circulate the draft by the beginning of next week — one that only warns Iraq of "serious consequences'' as opposed to a language which talks of an immediate right to use "all necessary means'' in the event of non-compliance.

Apparently, there are also other "concessions'' that the Bush administration has offered. Washington is no longer insisting that the five permanent members be allowed to travel with the weapons inspectors; and is also said to be dropping the earlier stipulation that troops must accompany the inspectors. The Security Council members did not meet formally on Friday and it is said that they are unlikely to get together over the weekend. But hectic behind-the-scenes efforts are under way, especially between Washington and Paris, to remove some of the last-minute and smaller objections.

France is said to be still objecting to a reference in the new draft that refers to Baghdad being in "material breach'' of the U.N. resolutions. It is still not clear if the decks have been cleared for two resolutions on Iraq, something France has been wanting all along. The first resolution will set the parameters for tough weapons inspections. The Council will then wait to hear from the inspectors to get into the consequences phase. The Bush administration, in presenting its new draft, has not committed itself to this process. Senior officials of the Republican administration are hanging tough in the view that the U.S. does not need any authority "even now'' to take action against Iraq, its Secretary of State, Colin Powell, making the position clear on this.

"The United States does not need any additional authority even now, if we thought it was necessary to take action to defend ourselves,'' remarked Gen. Powell. "We believe one resolution is appropriate.''

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