NATO failed again to reach a compromise on Iraq as Washington hardened its rhetoric against allies opposed to military action.
The latest attempt, a proposal by NATO secretary-general George Robertson, included measures demanded by Washington and Ankara for Turkey's defense in the event of war, again rejected by France, Germany and Belgium.
The three allies have since Monday been blocking what they see as a move to draw the alliance inexorably into an armed conflict that appeared increasingly likely. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the three allies were "isolating themselves" from the rest of Europe in their opposition.
And the State Department said Secretary of State Colin Powell will challenge France and Germany in person at a key meeting Friday of the UN Security Council at which weapons inspectors are to present a report on Iraqi compliance with disarmament demands.
"France and Germany are resisting," Powell earlier told a congressional committee, adding he had questions about the motives of Paris and Berlin in asking for more inspectors and more time for them to do their work.
"Are (they) just delaying for the sake of delaying, in order to get Saddam Hussein off the hook and no disarmament? That's the challenge I will put to them again this Friday and next week as debate continues on this issue."
Powell warned the Security Council was in danger of losing its credibility through inaction and reiterated the United States was determined to use force, if necessary, to disarm Iraq, with or without a UN approval.
Meanwhile, U.N. experts determined Wednesday that an Iraqi missile exceeds the maximum 150-km range allowed under U.N. resolutions.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said it is now up to chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix to recommend what to do about this violation, AP reported.
The experts met at U.N. headquarters on Monday and Tuesday to examine Iraq's production of the al-Samoud 2 and al-Fatah missiles, which in some tests exceeded the maximum range allowed under Security Council resolutions in place since the 1991 Gulf War.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said the experts confirmed earlier conclusions that the al-Samoud's range exceeds 150 kilometers but "that is not the final conclusion." He said the experts also indicated "they had no problem with al-Fatah."
The experts recommended that Blix's team follow-up technical issues about the al-Fatah with the Iraqis where some questions still remained, diplomats said. Negroponte said the experts found that the al-Samoud "definitely has a capacity that exceeds the range of 150 kilometers."
"That is something that our own intelligence sources have been telling us for months. But apparently now it's a matter of agreement among the experts," he said.
According to council diplomats, Blix reported last month that there had been 40 tests on the al-Samoud 2, and it went beyond the maximum permitted range 13 times. Blix refused to comment Wednesday on the experts' findings, saying "I will tell the Security Council on Friday." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
