Strongly opposed to war in Iraq, Germany began its first working day as president of the UN Security Council on Monday during a critical month when the US may press the council to support military action to disarm Saddam Hussein.
Germany's UN Ambassador Gunter Pleuger spent much of the day holding one-on-one meetings with council members and other UN member states. But he actually began work more than a week ago, filling in key Iraq-related dates on February's calendar.
The timing of Germany's presidency -- which rotates alphabetically every month among the 15 council members -- has put a spotlight on the US-German dispute over dealing with Iraq.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder won re-election in September on an anti-war platform, and he continues to stand up boldly to the US, resisting its push for war in Iraq and presenting himself as a champion of peace.
German diplomats were privately miffed that they had no advance knowledge of US President George W. Bush's plans to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Security Council today. They learned about it from Bush's televised State of the Union address last week.
Nonetheless, Schroeder welcomed Bush's decision to send Powell to present what US officials say will be new evidence on Iraq's weapons programs and links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. But he said the information should have been given to the weapons inspectors earlier.
Schroeder has been unwavering in his position that weapons inspections should continue and that only the Security Council can decide whether there will be war.
As president of the council, Germany controls its agenda, but under council rules it could not ignore a request like the US' for Powell to speak.
Many council members have used the presidency to schedule meetings on key issues -- AIDS in Africa, child soldiers, women in conflict, to name a few. Pleuger had scheduled a news conference for yesterday to outline Germany's agenda for the month which is certain to be dominated by Iraq.
In its support of inspections, Germany had scheduled -- before the Powell presentation was announced -- a new update to the council from top UN inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei on Feb. 14 about the progress of inspections and Iraq's cooperation. Iraq then invited them to visit Baghdad this coming weekend, promising greater "transparency" and cooperation.
The surprise briefing by Powell has stolen much of the thunder from the inspectors' upcoming report, though their assessment will likely play a critical role in any new resolution that might be considered by the Security Council.
Last week, US officials discussed arrangements for Powell's presentation with Pleuger and said they were satisfied. Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will preside at the meeting, which will be attended by at least 12 foreign ministers, a reflection of its importance.
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