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UK plans 10-day Iraq deadline
Edited for lengthThe UK has proposed Iraq should be given until 17 March to show its full cooperation with United Nations demands. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has put forward the new deadline in an amendment to the resolution on Iraqi disarmament tabled jointly with the United States and Spain. It would give Iraq 10 days to demonstrate "full, unconditional, immediate and active co-operation with its disarmament obligations under resolution 1441". The deadline emerged on Friday as Mr Straw gave his response to a crucial weapons inspectors report to the UN Security Council. The foreign secretary was particularly critical of French calls for inspectors to be given months of more time. "French" is now a four letter word, official. He argued the choice over war was in the hands of Saddam Hussein and that the threat of force was the only way of achieving Iraq's peaceful disarmament. "There is only one sensible conclusion that we can draw: We have to increase the pressure on Saddam Hussein, we have to put this man to the test," Mr Straw told the Security Council. He said Iraq should have a "further period" to disarm, with the date of 17 March given in the text of his amendment. Mr Straw said he welcomed what progress inspections had made but it was "only the tip of a very large iceberg" of unfinished business. Downing Street has said the chief weapons inspectors' reports showed Iraq was in material breach of resolution 1441. "The trigger for war has not been pulled because we are still going through the UN process," added the spokesman. Earlier, the UK's most senior soldier, General Sir Mike Jackson, said UK troops were ready to move immediately against Iraq if they get the order for war. Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Iraq had accelerated its cooperation but its efforts could not be called "immediate compliance". Dr Blix said recent disarmament moves were active and "even pro-active", but could not be called immediate. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said the pressure on Iraq was paying off. He rejected the idea of going to war on the proposed 17 March deadline timetable. France wants the inspectors to set out a list of key tasks for Iraq to complete, with progress reports every three weeks and an accelerated timescale for inspections. Despite that opposition, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he wanted the draft new resolution to go to a Security Council vote in the near future. Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-07 |
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