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Iraq I: Bush Supports Second U.N. Resolution The United States is prepared to support a second U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 6). Meanwhile, Iraq appeared to increase its cooperation with inspectors by allowing a scientist to be privately interviewed. While the United States is willing to support a second resolution, it must also be backed by “resolve” from the Security Council members, Bush said. “The United States would welcome and support a new resolution which makes clear that the Security Council stands behind its previous demands, yet resolutions mean little without resolve,” he said in a White House appearance with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. By passing a second resolution, the United Nations can demonstrate that is prepared to meet future challenges, Bush said, one day after Powell presented U.S. evidence to the Security Council outlining Iraq’s alleged efforts to conceal continuing weapons of mass destruction programs. “The United Nations can renew its purpose and be a source of stability and security in the world. The Security Council can affirm that it is able and prepared to meet future challenges and other dangers,” Bush said. “And we can give the Iraqi people their chance to live in freedom and choose their own government,” he added. While Bush expressed support for the idea of a second U.N. resolution, he also indicated that the United States and its like-minded allies might not hesitate to act if one is not approved. “The United States, along with a growing coalition of nations, is resolved to take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves and disarm the Iraqi regime,” Bush said. “[Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein has made Iraq into a prison, poison factory and a torture chamber for patriots and dissidents. Saddam Hussein has the motive and the means and the recklessness and the hatred to threaten the American people. Saddam Hussein will be stopped,” he added (White House release, Feb. 6). The United Kingdom will probably introduce a new resolution authorizing the use of military action against Iraq, but not until after a briefing by the heads of the U.N. inspections teams scheduled for Feb. 14, a British diplomat said. “We’ve made very clear we want a second resolution, but also all members of the council want to hear back from the inspectors on Feb. 14,” the diplomat said. “After that, the council will need seriously to grip the issue of Iraqi noncooperation. That’s likely to mean work on a second resolution,” the diplomat added (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Feb. 7). Iraqi Cooperation Meanwhile, Iraq yesterday allowed one of its scientists to undergo a private interview with weapons inspectors — an issue that had been a previous source of contention between Baghdad and the inspectors, according the Associated Press. The Iraqi biologist allowed a private interview yesterday, but a U.N. official said the biologist had appeared to be coached by Iraqi officials. It is still unknown if other WMD scientists and technicians will also agree to such interviews, AP reported. Inspectors had previously attempted to privately interview 16 Iraqi scientists, but none had accepted (Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Feb. 7). U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, who is expected to travel with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to Baghdad this weekend, said the interview demonstrated a new Iraqi effort to cooperate with inspections. Blix said he welcomed the measure but wanted to see “a lot more” during his and ElBaradei’s visit. “We want to see disarmament of Iraq through the inspection process,” Blix said in a speech to new weapons inspectors being sent to Iraq. “It requires active cooperation from Iraq, not on process but on substance,” he added (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Feb. 7). British Report Used Old Materials A recently released British report that outlined Iraq’s attempts to obstruct inspectors included several sections copied almost verbatim from previously published sources, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (see GSN, Feb. 4). Some sections of the report, Iraq — Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation, appeared to have been taken from a Ph.D. thesis written by Ibrihim al-Marashi that was published in a U.S. academic journal last year. The sections appeared to have been directly copied, including typing and grammatical mistakes that were in al-Marashi’s thesis, the broadcast reported. Al-Marashi said he did not know that the United Kingdom had used his work in its report (Australian Broadcasting Corp., Feb. 8). The British report also appeared to contain material from articles that appeared in Jane’s Intelligence Review in 1997 and November 2002, Jane’s reported today. While the information contained in both the Jane’s articles and the British report is accurate, London’s exact use of the previously published materials made it easier to determine what information had been previously classified, according to Jane’s (Christopher Aaron, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Feb. 7). A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today “in retrospect we should have acknowledged” that sections of the report were based on al-Marashi’s work. Some British lawmakers, however, said the issue reflected an attempt by Blair to mislead the public on a war with Iraq. The report “is another example of how the government is attempting to mislead the country and Parliament on the issue of a possible war with Iraq,” said Labor Party lawmaker Glenda Jackson. “And of course to mislead is a Parliamentary euphemism for lying,” she added (Jill Lawless, Associated Press/Austin American-Statesman, Feb. 7). International Support Several countries have sent, or are considering sending, anti-WMD units to the Persian Gulf, as well as providing other assistance to the United States ahead of any potential military conflict with Iraq, according to reports (see GSN, Jan. 29). Slovakia has approved the use of a Slovak biological and chemical defense unit in a potential war against Iraq, but only if the U.N. Security Council approves a resolution authorizing military action, according to the Bulgarian online news source Novinite.com (Novinite.com, Feb. 7). The Bulgarian Cabinet has recommended to the Bulgarian Parliament that the United States be granted overflight and transit rights for six months and the use of an airbase located in Burgas residential district of the city of Sarafovo, according to Novinite.com. The Bulgarian Parliament is expected to vote on the proposal today (Novinite.com, Feb. 7). Ukraine plans to send a radiological defense team to support coalition forces in Iraq should war break out, the country’s U.S. ambassador, Carlos Pascual, said yesterday. The team is also reportedly equipped to protect troops against biological and chemical attacks (Zhao Yu, Xinhua News Agency, Feb. 7, GSN translation). The United States has approached Spain about providing an anti-WMD unit in the event of war with Iraq, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported. While interested, Washington has not yet made a formal request for the unit, a Spanish official said (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 7). About 60 German anti-WMD troops and six “Fox” WMD-detection vehicles are currently stationed in Kuwait, according to the Associated Press. The German troops are there as part of the Combined Joint Task Force for Consequence Management, which also includes 160 U.S. troops and 250 Czech troops. The German troops, however, have no mandate to cross the border into Iraq and will not do so unless the decision is approved by the German Parliament (Steven Gutkin, Associated Press/Newsday, Feb. 7). Inspections U.N. inspectors yesterday visited at least 10 suspect Iraqi sites, according to an IAEA press release. Inspectors based in the northern city of Mosul visited the Arab Company for Detergent Chemicals in Baiji. Missile experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission visited al-Kadhimiya to verify Iraq’s declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring mechanism. IAEA inspectors continued their inspection of the Ashakyli Stores and held meetings at the National Monitoring Directorate (IAEA release, Feb. 6). For further information, see:
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