US President George W. Bush said yesterday that Saddam Hussein is "not going to fool anybody" with his promise to admit weapons inspectors and predicted the UN would rally behind his Iraq policy despite signs of unease.
In an Oval Office meeting with congressional leaders, Bush thanked Democrats and Republicans alike for their commitment to vote on a congressional resolution on Iraq before the November elections.
"I think it's an important signal for the world to see that this country is united in its resolve," the president said.
As some US allies, particularly France and Russia, said the promise of inspections might replace the need for a new UN resolution sought by Bush, the president said, "All they've got to do is look at his record. His latest ploy, his latest attempt not to be held accountable for defying the United Nations. He's not going to fool anybody."
"I'm convinced that when we continue to make the case about his defiance, his deception, the fact that time and time again -- dozens of times -- he has told the world, `Oh, I will comply' and he never does, that nations who care about peace and care about the validity of the United Nations, will join us," Bush said.
It was the second straight day that Bush has prodded the UN to move against Saddam, reflecting concerns of senior advisers that Iraq has gained the upper hand in the public relations battle.
"Reasonable people understand this man is unreasonable," Bush said.
A day after Iraq's surprise decision to allow the inspectors back in after nearly four years, the near-global support for the Security Council to get tough on Iraq shattered Tuesday with Russia and Arab nations now opposing the US demand for action.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov clashed at a news conference over the need for a new Security Council resolution that would set a deadline for the return of inspectors and threaten consequences if Iraq doesn't cooperate.
The exchange between the two veto-wielding council members set the stage for difficult negotiations if the US introduces a tough anti-Iraq resolution, as expected.
"We have seen this game before," Powell said of the Iraqi offer of inspections. He called for a new resolution to keep the pressure on Iraq "to make sure that we satisfy the need for disarmament."
But Ivanov, whose country is Iraq's closest ally on the Security Council, said there was no need for a new resolution.
"Russia believes that the main job now is to see to it that the inspectors -- without any artificial delays or obstacles -- should go to Iraq and get down to discharging their functions," he said.
In Washington yesterday, Democratic leaders sounded a note of bipartisanship as they emerged from their meeting with Bush.
House Speaker Dick Gephardt said that a stern resolution was needed to give Bush the authority to deal with Saddam diplomatically and "military, if we must."
Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, also a Democrat, said, "I think this is an important moment for our country and for the international community to work together."
The UN body that would travel to Iraq is the United Nations Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission, led by Hans Blix, a veteran arms expert. Blix met Tuesday evening with Iraqi officials, who said the two sides agreed to meet again in Vienna in 10 days to finish arrangements for the inspectors' return.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the inspection team "is ready to move as quickly as is practicable" to begin work in Iraq. He also said the Security Council is at the beginning of the process, not the end.
As US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld prepared to testify yesterday on Iraq before a House panel, the Pentagon said it was seeking to move some B-2 bombers closer to Baghdad. Officials said Tuesday the administration is seeking permission from Britain to base a small number of B-2 stealth bombers on the island of Diego Garcia in the northern Indian Ocean, instead of their current base in Missouri.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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