OnePeople

UN Resolution Getting Messy

Now that UNMOVIC representative Hans Blix has reached an agreement with the Iraqi government on weapons inspections, President Bush's attempt to gain Security Council authorization on the use of force in Iraq has become significantly more difficult. France, Russia and China have all openly rejected the draft Security Council resolution, and the United States is now scrambling to prevent a veto.

The Boston Globe has many Republican hawks criticising the Administration for a half-hearted lobbying effort in the Security Council. The Globe also has hawks upset that Bush is vying for Security Council approval and another inspection regime in the first place: "It's us participating in our own deception."

The BBC has Tariq Aziz, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, saying that the US is opposing the new inspections because it knows that Iraq is innocent and will lose its pretext for war.

Reuters has Russia moving closer to the US, allowing that it would support new resolutions authorizing force if the weapons inspectors needed them. Canada moved away, though, citing the danger of destabilizing the Middle East. It also mentions a statement from the Commerce Department, which claims a war with Iraq would boost the world economy by eliminating terrorist threats and increasing the availability of oil on the work markets.

CNN has British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in support of new resolutions after the inspections agreement, but did not go so far as to say that the inspections shouldn't proceed without those resolutions. CNN also spends some time on the alternative French proposal for a two-step process, in which the Security Council would first demand a new inspection regime, and then pass a second war resolution if Iraq does not comply. This proposal seems to have the support of France, Russia, and China, giving it a majority with the permanent members of the Security Council, all of whom have veto power.

The LA Times has a a telling quote: "We see it as a hard-line text designed for negotiation," said a council diplomat who opposes the U.S. proposal. "These are terms almost no one can accept. If we did, it would be an invitation for war." LAT also cites an interesting back-room twist on the recent Russian softening: the US will attempt to guarantee that Russia will be able to recover $8 billion owed by Iraq from any government that replaces the current Baath Party, and that Russia will have a role in a newly legitimate Iraqi oil industry.

MSNBC has British Prime Minister Tony Blair disappointed that access to presidential sites is restricted. They also describe Iraq as "dividing the Security Council," which is a suspect notion, as America is undoubtedly the protagonist here.

The BBC also has the Chinese Foreign Minister advocating a political solution: "The top priority at this moment is to let UN weapon inspectors return to Iraq as soon as possible and start work smoothly. Relevant actions of the Security Council should take this as the aim and be conducive to promoting a political resolution to the Iraqi issue."