Just one week after US forces seized Baghdad, the big powers returned to diplomatic sparring over Iraq's future yesterday after Washington urged an end to UN economic sanctions on the "liberated" country.
Shifting focus from combat to reconstruction amid what it sees as improving security in the ravaged Iraqi capital, the US said it would propose a resolution "in the near future" to wind up the controversial 13-year-old sanctions.
But lurking in the background were unresolved questions about the future UN role in Iraq, invaded four weeks ago by US and British forces without the explicit backing they had sought from the world body.
The EU, divided over Iraq, said yesterday the UN must play "a central role" in rebuilding Iraq but also stressed that the US-led forces in the country had a responsibility to restore stability.
US General Tommy Franks, who commanded the invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein, said after a visit to Baghdad that the orgy of looting that erupted in the city after the American troops arrived was now subsiding.
"The looting goes down every day and I think you will continue to see it go down because the Iraqis are now stepping up and controlling the problems for themselves," he told reporters in Kuwait.
He said 2,200 Iraqi civilians volunteered on Wednesday in Baghdad to work as unarmed police officers.
Franks earlier reported back to US President George W. Bush that water and power were being restored in Baghdad and hospitals were starting to function again after days of anarchy.
"Now that Iraq is liberated, the United Nations should lift sanctions on that country," Bush said on Wednesday.
The sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait barred all trade with Baghdad but to relieve hardship on the Iraqi people, a UN program was established in 1996 that allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food and essentials.
America's UN ambassador, John Negroponte, said Washington envisioned a "step-by-step procedure" to lift the sanctions.
At the UN, diplomats said an end to sanctions should depend on the UN certifying that Iraq is free of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Its alleged possession of such weapons was the main reason Washington gave for the war.
That in turn raises the question of whether any weapons of mass destruction are going to be found in Iraq. None have been so far, but US commanders say there could be up to 3,000 sites to check.
Franks flew on Wednesday to Baghdad airport where runways are still pockmarked with craters from US bombs. He met troops and military commanders and gave Bush a progress report via videoconference from one of Saddam's abandoned palaces.
The EU statement, issued by current president Greece, said: "The UN must play a central role, including in the process leading towards self-government for the Iraqi people."
But it added: "At this stage, the coalition has the responsibility to ensure a secure environment, including for the provision of humanitarian assistance and the protection of the cultural heritage and museums."
There were few solid clues to the whereabouts or fate of Saddam, who has vanished along with his two sons, Uday and Qusay, and most of his ruling elite, but US Central Command said yesterday that Special Forces had captured Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, a half-brother of Saddam. Al-Tikriti was a presidential adviser and had "extensive knowledge of the regime's workings," said Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese