US President George W. Bush, backed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his staunchest ally, has warned that the Iraqi crisis would come to a head in a matter of weeks, rather than months.
For the first time, Bush broached the idea of a second UN resolution to authorize war on Iraq but made clear such a resolution although welcome, was not necessary.
Nevertheless diplomats at the UN expected Washington to push for a resolution in about two weeks, if it looked as if such a measure might be successful.
"This needs to be resolved quickly. Should the United Nations decide to pass a second resolution, it would be welcomed, if it is yet another signal that we're intent upon disarming [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein," Bush told a joint news conference after his talks with Blair on Friday.
But Bush said he would brook no delay in his quest to disarm Saddam.
"Saddam Hussein is not disarming. ... Any attempt to drag the pro-cess on for months will be resisted by the United States," he said.
Iraq, which denies US-British charges that it has weapons of mass destruction, has invited chief UN arms inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to visit before their next report to the Security Council on Feb. 14.
The inspectors' report, to be delivered at about the time US forces now pouring into the Gulf are expected to be ready to launch an invasion, is seen as a milestone in Bush's war planning.
Blair said Baghdad's invitation was part of a long-established pattern of playing for time while Bush dismissed it as a deception and a charade.
"The only way that he can show that he [Saddam] is truly a peaceful man is to not negotiate with inspectors, is not to string the inspectors along, but to disarm in front of inspectors," he said.
Blix and ElBaradei told Iraq they hoped for positive steps before making any trip to Baghdad, such as allowing spy plane overflights without conditions and private interviews with scientists, according to diplomats.
Both Bush and Blair are meeting opposition at home and in various world capitals for the idea of a pre-emptive strike against Iraq without explicit UN backing.
On Friday former president Jimmy Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said: "Our government has not made a case for a pre-emptive military strike against Iraq, either at home or in Europe."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday underlined the divisions in Europe over whether to support Washington's war plans, saying his opposition to an Iraq war was supported by an overwhelming majority in Germany and Europe.
"Military force must not be a normal means of policy, it must remain something ... that one can and must call a last resort and requires the most sensitive and careful reasoning if one has to decide to use it," Schroeder told an campaign rally in Hanover.
Germany and Francewere left isolated this week by a letter signed by eight European leaders backing the tough US stance on Iraq and urging unity.
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
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in