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A Friend In Need Is a .......................
International tensions over Iraq flared again yesterday, with Prime Minister John Howard attacking Franceâs attitude to the war as US President George Bush faced a new wave of opposition to his policy of pre-emptive strikes. Mr Howard said France had made it impossible for the United Nations Security Council to enforce resolutions demanding Iraqâs disarmament and had been "opportunistic from the very beginning". Mr Howardâs sharp criticism of France after recent efforts to improve bilateral relations followed another impasse about the Iraq war between Mr Bush and French President Jacques Chirac at the UN General Assembly in New York.Mr Bush used his speech to the assembly to appeal for a united global effort to reconstruct Iraq. He also again defended the principle of pre-emptive attacks, drawing tough criticism at home and abroad. World leaders rebuked Mr Bush for throwing the UN into crisis by insisting on his doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, while US critics blamed him for the rising costs — both human and financial — of the US-led occupation of Iraq. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan underlined the growing divide over the global security system, saying Mr Bushâs support for pre-emption was "a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the past 58 years". He said this could "set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force". But Mr Howard said he disagreed with Mr Annan because it was not right to attack the US for doing what it believed was right. "Everyone wants the US when weâre in a jam because itâs the most powerful country in the world. But when it acts in accordance with the UN charter to do what it believes is right, and everything is not absolutely perfect the day after, theyâre ready to get stuck into the Americans - and I think thatâs a double standard," Mr Howard said. Speaking after Mr Bush at the UN gathering of leaders and foreign ministers, Mr Chirac said the US-led war had "shaken the multilateral system" and there was no justification for a superpower to act alone. But Mr Howard hit back, saying: "It may suit countries like France now to say you shouldnât do anything without a new Security Council resolution. Countries like France havenât always adopted that attitude in the past. "I mean, letâs call a spade a spade. Because of the authority they exercised as a permanent member of the Security Council, countries like France made it impossible for the Security Council and the United Nations to do their job. They were perfectly happy to see American and British troops and a smaller number of Australian forces exert pressure on Saddam Hussein before the war started, but then they werenât prepared to join the collective action." While Mr Bush made his appeal at the UN for more international help in Iraq, behind the scenes his diplomats were negotiating a new UN resolution that would create the political conditions for such help. However, other major powers want the US to cede more political authority in Iraq than the Bush administration has been willing to give. In his address to the UN General Assembly, the same forum where he last year challenged the UN to confront Iraq, a more conciliatory Mr Bush emphasised the common values of the US and the UN. And he called on the UN to join Washington in three tasks: the reconstruction of Iraq; the tightening of global nuclear non-proliferation; and a crackdown on the international trafficking in people for sexual exploitation. While he acknowledged the great rift that the US-led invasion of Iraq had opened in the world community, his emphasis was that there was "work we must do together". In particular, he said: "Iraq needs and deserves our aid, and all nations of goodwill should step forward and provide that support." The President said that Iraqâs successful reconstitution as a democracy "will have great power to inspire the Middle East". Australiaâs Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, speaking in New York, said he thought Mr Bush had made a conciliatory speech to the UN. Agreeing that Mr Annan was right to call for reform of the UN, Mr Downer said he would like to see the Security Council enlarged. In his address to the General Assembly, Mr Downer said: "Australia is a strong supporter of multilateral institutions and processes, but only insofar as they are a means to an effective end. The major global disarmament and non-proliferation treaties remain critical to setting norms of international order. But ultimately those instruments must be enforced." Posted by: tipper 2003-09-25 |
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