Britain is considering amending the latest UN resolution on Iraq in order to give Iraqi President Saddam Hussein "an ultimatum" and to set out "precise tasks" that show his sincere willingness to disarm, a diplomatic source said yesterday.
The compromise deal aims to win over members of the UN Security Council who have yet to decide whether to back the resolution declaring Iraq has rejected the "final opportunity" to disarm peacefully given in Resolution 1441 on Nov. 8.
It was expected to come up for intense discussion as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew out to New York on yesterday ahead of today's report to the Security Council by top UN inspectors Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei.
Complicating matters for the drive to military action by US President George W. Bush's administration were comments Wednesday from Blix, who said Iraq is now providing "a great deal more" cooperation.
Despite intense lobbying, the US hasn't been able to muster the minimum nine votes required to adopt a resolution allowing for war against Iraq.
Throughout Wednesday, clusters of Security Council diplomats met in the "delegates' lounge" at the UN, sipping coffee from paper cups and going over compromise options.
Under any amendment, Iraq would be ordered to meet key disarmament tasks that would allow "everybody to judge if Saddam Hussein is really cooperating or not with the inspectors", a diplomatic source in London told agencies on condition of anonymity.
One option would be to offer an "ultimatum" that would have "a very short deadline because everybody knows that the US are not ready to accept a long delay" to the start of military action, the source said.
It was understood that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government wants a resolution to be put to a Security Council vote sometime next Monday to Thursday, though a source acknowledged: "That may change."
Two areas are open to negotiations -- "time" and "benchmarks" -- but Blair is strongly opposed to letting the crisis drag on for much longer, and certainly not for months.
At a press briefing, a spokesman for Blair -- Bush's staunchest ally on Iraq -- said it was still up to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to "fully" cooperate with UN inspectors.
He refused to comment on speculation that a compromise amendment could be tabled or incorporated into the draft, giving Saddam one more deadline.
Blair also signalled yesterday he could be prepared to wage war on Iraq even if a number of UN powers vetoed a new resolution authorizing military action.
Until now, Blair has said he reserved the right to go to war without UN authorization in case a singular "unreasonable veto" was wielded.
But in a debate on music television channel MTV he appeared to extend that proviso to include multiple vetoes.
"If there was a veto applied by one of the countries with a veto or by countries that I thought were applying the veto unreasonably then in those circumstances I would," Blair said.
Blair also said that Iraq's oil will be not be placed in of the hands of the invading countries following a war, denying that the looming conflict was to secure oil supplies.
"It is nothing to do with oil, not for us, not for the UK, not for the United States," Blair said.
He also used the opportunity to criticize France and Russia, who have declared their opposition to war.
Asked why the two countries were attempting to block military action, he said: "There are outstanding debts and contracts in respect of France and Russia in Iraq."
Blair said that in a post-conflict Iraq, the country's oil should go into a UN-supervised reserve which would be for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
Meanwhile, EU foreign affairs envoy Javier Solana yesterday said no military intervention against Iraq should occur without authorization from the UN, saying the position was shared across the 15-member EU.
"There must not be any military action without the center of decision which is the UN. This is a clear position of the all members of the EU, and I think of the international community," he said.
But the drive to war seems unstoppable.
Foreign ministers of member states of the UN Security Council were to discuss Iraq today in what could be last public debate of its kind before the start of war.
Even Blix, is believed, however, to be resigned to the fact there is no way of halting the American war machine.
Blix told reporters that his 250-strong team in Iraq is ready to leave the country within 24 hours of receiving a warning from the US.
Such a warning, UN diplomats say, is likely to take the form of a polite telephone call to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
A senior US official, possibly Secretary of State Colin Powell, would advise the secretary general to assess the safety of the UN personnel in Iraq.
"Annan will get the message and immediately pass on the word to Blix," said a highly placed UN diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
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
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS