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Iraq: Egypt to Push for U.N. Inspections Events in the Middle East complicated U.S. efforts to gain support for action against Iraq yesterday while world leaders continued to push Iraq to allow U.N. weapons inspectors into the country, according to reports (see GSN, March 13). In a press conference yesterday afternoon, U.S. President George W. Bush repeated his commitment to deny hostile countries the ability to threaten the world with weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan dismissed reports that Iraq had refused to allow inspectors to return, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will push Iraq to allow inspectors to return. Mubarak expects Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to agree to allow inspectors to return, the Egyptian president said yesterday during a joint news conference with U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney, who is touring the Middle East. “We’ll try hard with Saddam Hussein to accept the U.N. inspectors to go there,” Mubarak said, “and we are going to meet with some of his special envoys and tell them that this is a must. My knowledge is that he’s going to accept the inspectors.” Mubarak’s comments stemmed from concern in the Middle East that the United States will attack Iraq and that returning weapons inspectors might be the only way to avoid a military confrontation, the New York Times reported (Michael Gordon, New York Times, March 14). The international community must attempt all diplomatic means to resolve concerns over Iraq, Mubarak said, but he has not ruled out the possibility that Egypt would support a U.S. military campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported. “We will try this direction as far as we can,” he said. “Then after that, if there is nothing happening, we will find out what will be done” militarily. Mubarak also said the United States must not take action that could break up Iraq. “It is of vital importance to maintain the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. This is a must for preserving regional stability,” he said. Israel Complicates Cheney’s Trip Mubarak’s comments reflect Arab concerns that U.S. actions could create a new conflict in a region already suffering from escalating violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Journal reported (Jeanne Cummings, Wall Street Journal, March 14). Israeli forces moved into the Palestinian West Bank city Bethlehem today after taking over Ramallah, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would continue Israel’s military offensive, despite Bush’s comment that “the recent actions aren’t helpful” (Miami Herald, March 14). Asked if Israel’s offensive had complicated Cheney’s trip, Cheney said, “Let’s say [Sharon] did not coordinate his actions with me” (Cummings, Wall Street Journal). Since arriving Tuesday in the Middle East, Cheney has discovered that he cannot gain significant Arab support for a campaign against Iraq unless the United States takes highly visible steps to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Times reported. Cheney does not want to directly connect the issues of Iraq and Israel-Palestine due to concerns that if Middle East peace is a condition for action against Iraq, the United States will never be able to take action, the Times reported. Current U.S. policy is to address both issues without formally connecting them. “From the standpoint of the U.S., both are important, and both need to be addressed,” said a U.S. official. U.S. policy already appears to be taking into account the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s impact on the Iraq issue. The United States has decided against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s proposal to phase out U.S. troops in the Sinai peninsula for now, due to concerns that the move would suggest that the United States was pulling out of the Middle East peace process, senior U.S. officials said. With Jordanian and Egyptian officials, Cheney discussed Saudi Arabia’s peace process proposal as well as concerns about Iraq, and he called on Israel to show more restraint (Gordon, New York Times). The “burden is on both parties” for ending the violence, Cheney said yesterday (Cummings, Wall Street Journal). Yesterday the vice president also welcomed a U.N. vote affirming the right of Palestinians to have a state, and the United States sent its special envoy Anthony Zinni back to the region. Egyptian officials said they are happy that the United States is becoming more involved in the Middle East peace process. “The Americans are engaged now rather than being detached,” said an Egyptian official yesterday (James Drummond, Financial Times, March 14). Bush Says All Options Are Open Bush emphasized yesterday that the United States considers the issues of Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to be separate, but he added that the United States will remain involved. “And so while I understand the linkage, for us the policy stands on its own,” he said. “The need for us to [be] involved in the Middle East is to help save lives, and we’re going to stay involved in the Middle East, and, at the same time, continue to talk about Iraq and Iran and other nations, and continue to wage a war on terror, which is exactly what we’re doing.” The president repeated his commitment to do whatever necessary to prevent hostile countries from developing weapons of mass destruction. “We’ve got all options on the table, because we want to make it very clear to nations that you will not threaten the United States or use weapons of mass destruction against us, or our allies or friends,” he said. “One thing I will not allow is a nation such as Iraq to threaten our very future by developing weapons of mass destruction,” Bush said. “I am deeply concerned about Iraq. And so should the American people be concerned about Iraq. And so should people who love freedom be concerned about Iraq. “This is a nation run by a man who is willing to kill his own people by using chemical weapons, a man who won’t let inspectors into the country, a man who’s obviously got something to hide. And he is a problem, and we’re going to deal with him.” Bush said, however, that the United States will talk with its allies. “But the first stage is to consult with our allies and friends, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said (White House transcript, March 13). Will Iraq Accept Inspections? Meanwhile, Iraq is continuing its own diplomatic efforts to gain support against a U.S. offensive. Senior Iraqi officials are expected to visit Egypt and other Arab countries in the next few days professing a willingness to accept inspectors, according to the New York Times. Iraqi and U.N. officials met last week for discussions, and they are expected to meet again in April (see GSN, March 11). Iraqi diplomats, however, have indicated privately they will probably not accept unrestricted inspections, while the United States has said inspectors must be allowed unrestricted access (Gordon, New York Times). Annan Dismisses Public Iraqi Rejection of Inspections Also yesterday, Annan rejected public Iraqi statements that the country will not accept inspections. “As far as I’m concerned, the discussions are taking place behind closed doors, and these public statements may not necessarily reflect what will happen behind closed doors when we get together,” he said. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan had told the official Iraqi news agency that “Iraq’s positions, barring the return of the spy teams, are firm and will not change.” Annan said he would pressure Iraq in the next U.N.-Iraq meeting to comply with U.N. resolutions. “We will pursue it aggressively next month. My objective is compliance and the return of the inspectors, so I will focus on what their envoy tells me and not what we see in the papers,” he said. “My mandate is clear. I am basing my discussion with them and my demands on council resolutions, and I am not going beyond that.” The talks with Iraqi officials “started reasonably well, but it was only a start, and one may not conclude that it is going to succeed or fail,” Annan said today (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo.com, March 14).
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