As new "evidence" to condemn Saddam Hussein, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his spokesman cited Monday the development of drone airplanes and cluster bombs, both capable of spreading chemicals. Powell said the world should be concerned.
Disclosure last week by U.N. weapons inspectors that Iraq had such aircraft "should be of concern to everybody," Powell said. "This and other information shows Iraq has not changed."
But chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said existence of the pilotless aircraft was not a "smoking gun" and there is no proof yet that the drones are linked to illegal weapons programs. "We are investigating what the drones are," he said.
Meanwhile, U.S. and British diplomats consulted on extending the March 17 deadline proposed last Friday for Iraq to disclose and eliminate all its hidden weapons of mass destruction.
In the process, a vote planned for Tuesday was postponed at least until later in the week. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer described consultations on the March 17 deadline as "fluid."
President Bush and Powell pressed their diplomacy to secure at least the minimally required nine votes for adoption of the resolution. The foreign minister of Guinea, Francois Fall, said after a luncheon meeting with Powell that Guinea and other council members were "in intensive consultations in order to find a compromise."
The six undecided members of the U.N. Security Council weighed delaying a deadline for Iraqi compliance to April 17, diplomats said on Monday. Pakistan's U.N. ambassador, Munir Akram, however, said this was not yet a common position, with some of the six wanting a shorter and others seeking a longer extension. In addition to Pakistan, the undecided members include Angola, Guinea, Cameroon, Mexico and Chile.
On his part, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed that revising the tough resolution in a bid to gain support was being considered. "We are obviously listening to other governments as we talk to them, and we'll see where we come out on this. At this point I don't want to predict anything either way," Boucher said.
While Tuesday had not been officially set as the date for a vote on the resolution U.S. officials made clear it was the intention. Signaling a change in timing, Fleischer declined to predict when the resolution would be taken up. "It certainly could be any day later than tomorrow," he said.
Bush, meanwhile worked the telephone to stave off a U.N. Security Council defeat. He spoke by telephone to eight world leaders.
Bush talked to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, Turkish governing party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.
Besides Fall, Powell spoke to Presidents Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez of Mexico, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
