 |
|
U.S. police arrest anti-war activists
|
WASHINGTON,
October 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - UN debate on a
resolution creating a tough new Iraq weapons inspections regime and
warning of tough consequences for non-compliance is "moving
forward nicely," the White House said Monday.
"There
will be serious consequences if (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein fails
to honor his obligations," spokesman Ari Fleischer said as
ambassadors from the five permanent UN Security Council members met to
discuss Iraq, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"I
can't predict the exact dates that they will take concrete action, but
I think it's moving forward nicely," he said, adding that
Washington will not need a second resolution explicitly authorizing
the use of force against Iraq.
If
the Council approves the first resolution, "the United States
will have all the authority that it needs along with our allies"
to undertake military action to strip Iraq of chemical and biological
arms, he said.
Iraq
denies having weapons of mass destruction and has invited the UN
weapons inspectors back into the country to prove otherwise. However,
the U.S. did not agree to allowing the inspectors back into Iraq
unless the Security Council issues a new resolution authorizing
automatic use of power if Baghdad does not comply.
The
U.S. Congress has already approved a resolution authorizing U.S.
President George W. Bush to use military force to disarm and oust
Saddam when Bush decides that diplomatic overtures to Baghdad have
failed.
The
spokesman did not rule out the possibility that the Council would
debate a second resolution, perhaps one explicitly authorizing the use
of force against Iraq.
"It
is always the right of any nation that is a member of the United
Nations Security Council to come forward at any time, in all times
with any resolution that they see fit," he said.
The
Security Council has been meeting in open session to discuss the Iraq
issue ahead of a crucial vote on the conditions under which UN weapons
inspectors will return to Baghdad, which they left in 1998, to verify
Iraqi assertions that it has no nuclear, chemical or biological
weapons.
The
United States, backed by Britain, has been pressing for a single
resolution that would trigger automatic military action if Iraq fails
to allow unfettered access to suspected weapons sites.
France,
largely backed by Russia, favors two resolutions, with a second vote
needed to authorize military action.
However,
a compromise looked imminent in the deadlocked council, with
Washington about to offer a deal acceptable to fellow permanent
members France and Russia.
The
deal would enable arms inspectors to start work in Iraq backed with
only an implicit threat of force, diplomats said. A likely U.S. draft
resolution would set in place a two-stage process, convening the
Security Council before any military attack on Iraq.
But
both U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw again made clear the United States and Britain
were prepared to act without the Council's approval if necessary.
The
Washington Post, meanwhile,
reported Friday, October 18, that the
United States promised Israel it would use ground
forces to knock out any missiles in western Iraq capable of reaching
its territory at the start of an eventual war.
The
pledge was made to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his
visit to Washington this week for meetings with top U.S. officials
including Bush, U.S. officials told the daily.
