The goal of the United States and its ally, Britain, was to seize Iraq's oil and redraw the map of the Middle East," Douri charged

UNITED NATIONS, March 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Concluding their first day of  make-or-break debate on the new U.S.-backed resolution on Iraq, the majority of the 28 speakers who addressed the Security Council spelt out Tuesday, March 11, opposition to using military force against Iraq and pressed for peaceful solution by pursuing arms inspection.

The two-day debate was called at the request of the non-aligned nations to allow non-members of the Council to air their views on the draft resolution, also co-sponsored by Britain and Spain, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo and his Canadian counterpart, Paul Heinbecker, both quoted the opening words of the U.N. Charter:

"We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war..."

They and others warned that military action without the authority of the Council would further strain already tense international relations and put the future of the U.N. itself in doubt.

Iraq’s chief delegate to the U.N. Mohammed al-Douri reiterated that the goal of the United States and its ally, Britain, was to seize Iraq's oil and redraw the map of the Middle East.

"Iraq has taken the strategic decision to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction... and reiterates its readiness to co-operate," the ambassador said.

However, his Kuwaiti counterpart, Mohammad Abulhasan, accused Iraq of "dissembling" and claimed its cooperation with the inspectors who resumed work on November 27 was "superficial and merely procedural."

Iran's ambassador Javad Zarif, whose country fought an eight-year war after it was attacked by Iraq in 1980, also said the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should do more to save itself.

"First and foremost, it is incumbent on the Iraqi government to take irreversible steps to assure its neighbors and the United Nations that it intends to live in peace," he said.

Like many other speakers, Zarif rejected what he said was a rush to war by the United States and Britain, which have massed a quarter of a million troops close to Iraq.

Zarif said it was "morally and politically unacceptable for hot weather, moonless nights and troop fatigue to take precedence over the likely deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians."

New Zealand's Ambassador Don MacKay said his government wanted the arms inspections to continue, but he warned Iraq that "this is not the time for diplomatic brinkmanship."

Martin Belinga-Eboutou, the ambassador of Cameroon, a current non-permanent member of the Security Council, told reporters the swing six non-permanent members, also including Guinea, Angola, Chile, Mexico and Pakistan, were discussing a proposal to extend the proposed March 17 deadline by 30 to 45 days.

Bulgaria's ambassador to the U.N., Stefan Tafrov, tried to gloss over the divisions, saying: "difference between the members is not on the objective, which is to disarm Iraq, but on the means, so a compromise should be possible."

"Any resolution which contains ultimatums or automatic use of force is unacceptable," averred Lavrov

But his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, was adamant that "any resolution which contains ultimatums or automatic use of force is unacceptable."

The session was adjourned after four hours and expected to resume on Wednesday. 

U.S. Adamant On Vote

For his part, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the United States insists on a vote this week on its draft resolution which seeks a green light for war on March 17 unless the council decides that Iraq is fully cooperating with weapons inspectors.

He held out the possibility of a small extension to the deadline, saying the draft was "not set in stone."

U.S. President George W. Bush "thinks that there is a little room for a little more diplomacy, but not much time," the spokesman said.

A senior U.S. official said Washington was preparing a compromise resolution for the U.N. Security Council, but he insisted that "the vote will take place this week" regardless of French and Russian veto threats.

He also flatly dismissed proposals to push back the March 17 deadline by a month in the amended resolution, saying such an idea was a "non-starter."

Security Council president Mamady Traore of Guinea said he expected the sponsors of the draft to amend it because they realized that the March 17 deadline it contains was unacceptable to members whose votes they are seeking.

"We are waiting for a new draft resolution with some amendments. We are going to see something new," he told reporters.

The draft needs the support of nine of the 15 council members to pass, but the sponsors can count only on their own votes, plus that of Bulgaria.

France and Russia have explicitly said they will use their veto power as permanent members to defeat the draft.

They claim the support of China, which also has a veto, as well as non-permanent members Germany and Syria.