Bush en route to a war summit in the Azores

LAJES, Portugal, March 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In a spot originally set upon by pirates, chosen to be the scene of their war summit, U.S. President George W. Bush and his two staunch allies U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar are set to hold a “last-ditch” bellicose summit Sunday, March 16, in the mid-Atlantic Portuguese Azores archipelago ahead of a looming war on Iraq.

The wartime President and his backers will meet at a U.S. military base on Terceira Island to determine the fate of a flagging U.N. resolution that could trigger a war against Iraq, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, host of the hastily called meeting, admitted Saturday, March 15, that "the chances of a political solution are slim, minute even."

But he told the state Lusa news agency that "even if there is one chance in a million, we have the obligation to try," adding: "What is at stake is the security and the freedom of our societies."

On the eve of the summit, France, Germany and Russia late Saturday, March 15, issued a "solemn appeal" for pains-taking efforts to preserve peace, calling for a Security Council meeting next week to define a disarmament task list, along with a strict calendar Baghdad must abide by to avoid military conflict.

Despite the diplomatic efforts, Bush repeated his war call Saturday in his weekly radio address.

"If force is required to disarm him (Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein), the American people can know that our armed forces have been given every tool and every resource to achieve victory," Bush said.   

"And for the government of the United States and the coalition we lead, there is no doubt: We will confront a growing danger, to protect ourselves, to remove a patron and protector of terror, and to keep the peace of the world," he added.

Bush's National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, told the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel that "now we are in the endgame for U.N. diplomacy."

"We are reaching the final stages. This cannot go on for very much longer," she said, adding that the Azores summit was "making a last push to see if we can convince people to take on their responsibilities. But a moment of truth is coming."

Portugal will close the only airport on Terceira during the meeting. The airport, which is located on Lajes military base where the summit will be held, will be closed to civilian plane traffic for 12 hours from 11:00 am (1200 GMT) for security reasons, an airport official told Lusa.

If the three allies decide at the summit to bring their resolution to a vote at the Security Council, they could try to win the nine votes needed to pass the measure and claim a "moral victory" even if France, Russia or China vetoes it.

But if the United States failed to win nine votes, it could decide not to bring the resolution to a vote.

Then Washington could carry on with the argument it has held all along - that resolution 1441 adopted in November provides all the legal authority it needs to take military action to disarm Iraq.

Pirates Islands

The Azores archipelago is Located right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America and consists of nine Islands. The archipelago is about 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) from the coast of Portugal and 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) from the U.S. coast.

Historically, the Portuguese came on to the islands in 1427 with the discovery of the islands of Santa Maria and Sao Miguel. Due to its strategic geographic position, the archipelago was to become one of the axes of navigation between Europe, the Orient and America during the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.

This period saw the occurrence of major naval battles off the Azores when the islands were set upon by pirates.

The islands are home to an airbase used by U.S. forces, Lajes Field on the island of Terceira, which serves planes en route from the United States to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and vice versa.

Today, the Azores is an autonomous region endowed with its own parliament and government.