“There is no change in the French position, no change at all. We want the inspectors to work well in Iraq,” said Raffarin

PARIS, February 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – It seems as if the U.S. has become at opposite ends with other countries after Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation Wednesday, February 5, to the U.N. Security Council on Iraq’s alleged weapons program.

The reason is that Powell failed to budge world opinion on Iraq, with most countries reaffirming their previous positions on the need to give U.N. experts, currently inside Iraq, more time to conclude their mission, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Thursday, February 6.

The four veto-wielding members of the Security Council stood by their earlier stands, with London supporting the war-mongering Washington, France opposing a U.S.-led war and Russia and China urging for U.N. inspectors to be given more time.

"There is no change in the French position, no change at all. We want the inspectors to work well in Iraq. We do not want war," French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told AFP.

"We believe there are other ways of destroying weapons than war. War is only the last resort. We are committed to absolutely every process to prevent war," he stressed.

South Africa, for its part, has urged the United States to forward its alleged evidence to the U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq, saying the U.N. was the one and only body fit to deal with the Iraq crisis.

"The government expresses its hope that this as well as any other information will be handed over to the U.N. weapons inspectors to facilitate their ongoing work in Iraq," South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said.

Powell’s Evidence Outdated, Says Expert

The information on Iraqi weapons presented by Powell is out of date, ruled Jean-Pascal Zanders, an expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

"I think Mr. Powell presented proof on arms and arms programs which Iraq had, but when I say 'had', I mean we're talking about programs from the 1990s," Zanders stressed.

"Concerning elements possibly justifying war, I don't think that Mr. Powell has provided proof on what has changed since the 1990s.

"For example, a film of an Iraqi war plane presented by Powell to the United Nations Security Council was taken in 1991,” he said.

European-Gulf Papers Unconvinced, See War Looming

European and Gulf papers, meanwhile, expressed on Thursday skepticism at Powell's presentation of the case against Iraq, but they were equally sure it marked the start of the countdown to a military showdown against Baghdad.

"Powell's long presentation will only have convinced those who were convinced already. Not because it was lacking in content. But because between even the greatest probability and actual proof there is a gap which can only be filled by sheer conviction,” the French left-wing Liberation paper said.

Le Figaro commentator Yves Threard said that an America wounded by the September 11 attacks needed to reaffirm its strength, and Iraq was the chosen target and there was little or nothing Europe could do to stop it.

The information on Iraqi weapons presented by Powell is out of date, said Zanders

"Non-existent politically-speaking Europe has no choice but the Atlantic connection. Even France, which has raised a possible veto (at the U.N.), is beginning to climb down," he said.

In the Czech Republic, the Dnes daily made it clear that the "proofs presented by Powell may not have sufficed for a court of law, but it is no longer a matter of proofs, it is politics. Saddam Hussein's prospects are getting darker."

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the daily Al-Bayan described Powell’s presentation as "a prelude to war," asking if there was a "logical justification for launching a war against an Arab country even if this evidence was valid."

"What is serious in Powell's intervention are not the accusations against Iraq but that these accusations have been put forward as a last pretext for military intervention in Iraq," said Al-Watan of Oman.

Taking the U.S. Side

Some other countries, however, voiced their support for the U.S. hard-line policy towards Iraq, claiming that Baghdad was now in "material breach" of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

In Europe, 10 Central and Eastern European nations and NATO aspirants lined up behind Washington, saying in a joint statement it was now clear that Baghdad was breaching U.N. disarmament resolutions.

"Iraq is in material breach of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, including U.N. Resolution 1441," claimed the foreign ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Australia, Japan and New Zealand, in addition, said Powell’s presentation offered clear evidence Iraq was misleading U.N. weapons inspectors.

Australia, one of the staunchest supporters of any U.S.-led military aggression, said Powell's presentation amounted to "cast iron" evidence that Saddam was conning inspectors.

"The material that Secretary of State Powell has released shows a deeply disturbing pattern of deceit by Saddam Hussein's regime," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer claimed.

"There is no question that Iraq is endeavoring to circumvent Security Council resolutions ... it's trying to frustrate the work of the inspectors instead of cooperating fully with the inspectors which it's required to do by the Security Council," he alleged.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the speech had deepened suspicions over Iraq's claim that it does not possess weapons of mass destruction.

"Suspicions over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program have deepened," Koizumi told the lower house budget committee.

"We must act in a responsible manner as a U.S. ally," he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, for his part, said Powell's presentation was "pretty good evidence", adding his country was prepared to send troops to help rebuild post-war Iraq if requested by the U.N.

In an 83-minute speech, supported by satellite photos and tapes of bugged phone calls allegedly between Iraqi military officers, Powell accused Iraq of "concealing their efforts to produce more weapons of mass destruction."

Powell, in an attempt to woo veto-carrying council members, also said Iraq had ties with al-Qaeda network.