President George W. Bush turned his attention yesterday to the UN after the Senate joined the House of Representatives in strong votes authorizing a possible US attack on Iraq.
The Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate by wide margins approved the resolution that Bush wanted to reinforce his demand that the UN Security Council threaten the use of force, if necessary, to enforce its requirements that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein abandon programs for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.
"Saddam Hussein and his outlaw regime pose a grave threat to the region, the world, and the United States. Inaction is not an option, disarmament is a must," Bush said.
The House earlier on Thursday passed it 296 to 133 after three days of debate.
Under intense pressure from the White House which wanted a big bipartisan majority in Congress to strengthen its hand in its confrontation with Iraq , the Democratic-led Senate passed the war powers resolution 77 to 23.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle helped give Bush the sizable win he sought by announcing he would support the resolution despite earlier reservations.
Democrats were split, with 29 voting for the resolution and 21 against it. Also voting against it were Republican Lincoln Chafee and independent James Jeffords.
"For me, the deciding factor is my belief that a united Congress will help the president unite the world. And by uniting the world, we can increase the world's chances of succeeding in this effort, and reduce both the risks and the costs that America may have to bear," Daschle said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, a Democrat who initially criticized the war powers resolution as too broad, said he decided to back it "because we should support compelling Iraq to make good on its obligations to the UN."
But a number of Democrats said the resolution set a dangerous precedent for unilateral pre-emptive strikes, that Bush had not made a case that Iraq posed an imminent threat, and that conflict in Iraq would detract from efforts to root out terrorist groups they said posed a greater threat.
While Iraq has agreed to allow arms inspectors to return after a four-year absence, the 15-nation UN Security Council is locked in negotiations on how intrusive it wants UN inspections to be.
The council is expected to hold an open debate on Iraq next week.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said yesterday that Iraq was ready to respond to any US attack "within the hour," in the first official Iraqi reaction to the congressional green light for Bush to use force.
"I am not suprised by this vote, and we will confront these plans of aggression," Aziz said.
Speaking after a meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Aziz was asked by a journalist when an attack might come.
"We are not the ones who decide that, but we are ready to respond to it within the hour," he said.
The Iraqi official insisted his country "poses no threat to anyone, not to countries of the region nor to the US.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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