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:
UNMOVIC
IAEA Iraq Action Team
U.N. Resolution 1441
By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON — The United States appears to be firmly set on a path leading to war with Iraq, which U.S.-led forces could begin attacking as soon as early next month, a panel of experts said yesterday (see related GSN story, today).
The only options that could stall U.S. action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at this point would be either a “bullet in Saddam’s head” or “Travelocity [airline] tickets for a large amount of families,” former senior U.N. weapons inspector David Kay said yesterday during a Brookings Institution briefing.
There is increasing evidence that the United States is building up the military force needed for war, said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings, noting the recent beginning of the deployment of the 101st Airborne Division to the region. Another sign that the United States is close to attacking will be any deployment of the “the first, the first and the first” — the 1st Mechanized Infantry division, the 1st Armored Division, or the 1st Armored Cavalry division, he said.
U.S. President George W. Bush’s harsh criticism of Iraq’s human rights record during his State of the Union address last month is another indication of the administration’s intent to attack, said Kenneth Pollack, a member of the National Security Council staff during the Clinton administration (see GSN, Jan. 29). In his speech, Bush said, “International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning.”
The White House had resisted having Bush present such a strong argument against Iraq’s human rights record, Pollack said, because, once made, such criticism could not be later withdrawn. Even if progress was made on resolving the conflict surrounding Iraq’s WMD efforts, inspections cannot resolve human rights concerns — leaving the need for military action to remove Hussein, he said.
U.S. Plans
The United States has two impending windows for war in March — the first 10 days and the last 10 days, O’Hanlon said. These low-moonlight periods would give U.S. forces optimal conditions for nighttime operations, he said. The United States could also begin an attack in early or late April for similar reasons, O’Hanlon said.
A U.S.-led attack on Iraq would probably combine aspects of both the 1991 Gulf War and the recent war in Afghanistan to root out al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Pollack said, adding that U.S. ground forces would play a large role. Two recent developments — Jordan’s granting of overflight rights and Turkey’s decision to allow the stationing of U.S. troops there — will have strategic advantages, he said. U.S. forces stationed in Turkey could pin down and distract Iraqi forces in the northern part of the country as well as defend the Kurdish population there from retaliation. By being allowed to fly through Jordanian airspace, U.S. fighter aircraft will be able to better hunt down and destroy Iraqi Scud missile launchers in the western desert section of the country.
Powell Makes the Case
The expert panel yesterday uniformly praised U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s recent presentation to the U.N. Security Council of U.S. evidence demonstrating Iraqi noncompliance with U.N. resolutions, saying it helped bolster the case for military action (see GSN, Feb. 5).
“One of the finest performances I’ve ever seen,” Kay said, adding that Powell’s presentation was so effective, no one present claimed afterward that Iraq was complying with inspectors.
Ivo Daalder, a senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, agreed, saying the White House chose wisely when it picked Powell to present the U.S. argument. “Powell has more credibility than anyone else in the administration,” Daalder said.
One of the strongest sections of Powell’s presentation was his warning that the United Nations needed to act or risk sinking into irrelevance, Kay said.
“This body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it allows Iraq to continue to defy its will without responding effectively and immediately,” Powell said in his presentation.
Powell’s warning was a powerful threat to the smaller countries of the United Nations, who see the international body as one of their few checks on U.S. power and ability to act on a global stage, Kay said.
Pollack said there were three target audiences for Powell’s presentation: the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. public and the international community. Of these, the Security Council is probably the least relevant because the council members will view any decision on whether to attack Iraq as a policy decision and are unlikely to be swayed by speeches, he said (see GSN, Feb. 6).
While Powell was effective in increasing U.S. support for an attack by explaining the justification, he was less successful in convincing the international community, Pollack said. For example, most Arab states appear to have completely dismissed Powell’s presentation and the European reaction has been mixed at best, he said. What the United States needs to do now is “follow-through” on Powell’s efforts by continuing to send out administration officials to make the case against Iraq and by continuing to release U.S. intelligence showing Iraqi noncompliance, Pollack said. He added that while the leaders of a number of countries have privately expressed support for U.S. action against Iraq, they have also warned the United States that it needs to do more to increase public support within their countries.
“Powell’s presentation was a great start, but it was [only] a start,” Pollack said.
Ball in Hussein’s Court
Following Powell’s presentation, Iraq might now choose to make a few technical concessions related to inspectors’ concerns, but is likely to continue to deny the bulk of the U.S. claims, said Amatzia Baram, a professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Haifa in Israel (see GSN, Feb. 4). For example, Iraq could concede on the issue of allowing U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance flights, he said. Iraqi presidential adviser Amir al-Saadi was reported as indicating earlier this week that Iraq might be ready to compromise on this issue.
Another area potentially open for compromise is the private interview of WMD scientists and technicians by inspectors, Baram said. The Associated Press reported today that Iraq has allowed a biologist to participate in such an interview. Hussein feels safe in allowing this because Iraqi intelligence services already know what information each scientist could possibly divulge, and even if the interviews are conducted without Iraqi minders present, the scientists and their families remain in “mortal danger,” Baram said.
Iraq is not likely to make major concessions to the United States or inspectors, however, before the approval of a second U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force, according to Baram (see GSN, Feb. 4). That will be the “moment of truth,” for Hussein, he said.
Once the threat of an attack is imminent, Hussein will be likely to gather his top advisers and seek their honest advice on what to do next, Baram said. While Hussein has enjoyed a public reputation as being a loose cannon, he often makes rational and calculated decisions at times of crisis, he said.
There is a “50.5 percent” chance that Hussein will give in to a small extent on the WMD issue in an attempt to buy more time, Baram said, adding that the decision will be “the most difficult of his life.” Iraq sees its WMD arsenal as important for its survival — a view that would have to be balanced against the threat of a U.S. occupation of Baghdad, Baram said.
A second U.N. resolution would be “the moment where they have to rethink the whole thing,” Baram said.
The “Samson Option”
If war did occur, however, Hussein might attempt what Baram called “the Samson option” — WMD attacks against his enemies in a scorched-earth fashion (see GSN, Oct. 11, 2002). Hussein would probably issue orders for chemical weapons attacks against U.S. forces to at least slow them down, Baram said. It is also possible that Hussein would order using biological weapons against the Shiite community in southern Iraq, which he would then blame on the United States, both in an attempt to slow a U.S. advance and to settle old scores, he said.
As part of the Samson option, Hussein could also try to establish a place for himself in Arab history by ordering WMD attacks against Israel in an attempt to inflict mass damage, Baram said, noting that Hussein places a high importance on his future place in history.
The United States has begun planning an information campaign to persuade Iraqi military officers to ignore orders to use weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Sept. 30, 2002). Such a campaign would involve the use of leaflets dropped on Iraqi positions, special aircraft messages and even electronic mail communications, according to reports.
Baram doubted, however, that most Iraqi officers fully understood the U.S. legalistic approach, by which the United States has warned of war crimes charges against Iraqis who use weapons of mass destruction. Instead, the United States needs to make the Iraqi officers more afraid of U.S. punishment for obeying such orders than they are of Hussein, Baram said, adding that such a task will be difficult.
Aftermath
Once the United States has overthrown Hussein, the postwar occupation and reconstruction of Iraq will not be easy, the experts said. For example, U.S. troops cannot expect the same warm welcome from the Iraqi Shiite Muslim community that Israeli troops received from the Shiite Muslims in southern Lebanon when they invaded in 1982, Baram said.
History has demonstrated that Iraqis are a fiercely nationalistic and difficult people, Baram said. “They’re proud of it,” he added.
While the Iraqi population is likely to accept the U.S. presence in the end, the United States will have to be sensitive to Iraqi concerns, Baram said. He said this was a lesson the United Kingdom failed to realize when it occupied Baghdad after World War II. The United States will need to use local leaders who did not actively collaborate with the Baath Party, as well as opposition members in exile, to serve as links to the local population, he said. In the end, however, most U.S. troops should be able to leave Iraq fairly quickly after the fall of Hussein and Iraq should be able to gradually return to self-rule, Baram said.
Kay, however, differed with Baram’s view that the Iraqi population would be any more difficult for the United States to oversee after Hussein. “I don’t know anyone in the Middle East who isn’t [difficult],” Kay said.
For further information, see:
UNMOVIC
IAEA Iraq Action Team
U.N. Resolution 1441
Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have conducted hundreds of inspections in Iraq since resuming the post-Gulf War inspection regime Nov. 27. More than 100 inspectors are now based in the country at two facilities in Baghdad and Mosul. The following chart summarizes some of the inspectors’ reported activities.
| Date | Site | Activity | | Feb. 6 | National Monitoring Directorate | IAEA inspectors held meetings with officials at the site (see GSN, Feb. 7). | | Ashakyli Stores | IAEA inspectors continued their inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 7). | | Arab Company for Detergent Chemicals in Baiji. | See GSN, Feb. 7. | | Al-Kadhimiya | UNMOVIC missile inspectors worked to verify Iraq's declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring mechanism (see GSN, Feb. 7). | | Military College of Engineering | UNMOVIC missile inspectors worked to verify Iraq's declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring mechanism (IAEA release, Feb. 6.) | | Abraj Alcohol Production Facility in Baghdad | See IAEA release, Feb. 6 | | Fallujah Ammunition Depot west of Baghdad | Inspectors examined 23 large ammunition storage bunkers and 81 outdoor storage areas (IAEA release, Feb. 6). | | General Office of the State Establishment for Water and Sewage in Baghdad | See IAEA release, Feb. 6 | | Directorate of Teaching Laboratories in Saddam Medical City | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center storage facility | IAEA inspectors monitored the transfer of several radioactive isotope sources from the former site of the al-Salam Company to the site (IAEA release, Feb. 6). | | Feb. 5 | Heti Readymade Concrete production facility in Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 6. | | Sinjar Cement Factory near the northern city of Mosul | | Al-Riyadh stores | | Ashakyli Stores south of Baghdad | | Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate | IAEA inspectors held meetings with officials (see GSN, Feb. 6). | | Al-Fatah | UNMOVIC missile inspectors worked to verify Iraq’s declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring system (see GSN, Feb. 6). | | Al-Nu’man, a state-operated irrigation company south of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Food research center in Baghdad | | Laser research center at Baghdad University | | Dairy factory in Abu Ghraib north of Baghdad | | Al-Mutasim missile plant, about 55 miles west of Baghdad | | Missile factory belonging to the al-Karamah facility | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center warehouses | | Former site of the Osirak nuclear reactor | | Undisclosed site north of Baghdad | | Feb. 4 | State Establishment for Heavy Engineering Enterprises plant in Doura | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Farm north of Baghdad | | Helicopter support facility north of Baghdad | | Al-Taji Ammunition Department, north of Baghdad | Inspectors discovered an empty Sakr-18 chemical warhead at the site, similar to empty chemical warheads discovered last month. The Sakr-18 warhead was tagged and secured (see GSN, Feb.5). | | Mosul Sugar and Yeast Factories | Inspectors worked to determine the site’s present activities (see GSN, Feb. 5). | | Al-Mamoun plant of the al-Qa Qaa State Establishment, south of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Al-Rafah liquid engine test facility, about 80 miles southwest of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 4. | | Al-Harith missile maintenance workshop in Taji, north of Baghdad | | Al-Mamoun factory of the al-Rasheed State Company, about 40 miles south of Baghdad | | Water purification station in Doura, just outside of Baghdad | | Agricultural supply company in Waziriya in Baghdad | | Nassr State Establishment, about 25 miles northwest of Baghdad | | Military compound near Baghdad | | Al-Salam compound at Salman Pak, south of Baghdad | | Feb. 3 | Applied Science Department of the University of Technology in Baghdad | IAEA release, Feb. 3. | | Tropical Diseases Unit of the Al Kindi Medical School in Baghdad | | Military training facility in Salman Pak area | | Al-Salam | | Al-Qudis | | Al-Saad Company | | Al-Qa Qaa | | Arab Company for Detergent Chemicals | | Ibn Al Hytham industrial manufacturing plant in Taji north of Baghdad | | Areas south of Baghdad | IAEA inspectors conducted a motorized radiation survey (IAEA release, Feb. 3). | | Al-Nidaa State Company | UNMOVIC missile inspectors discovered a ceramic missile mold and a damaged warhead for the Luna short-range missile. Iraq has said the missile’s range is within U.N. limits (see GSN, Feb. 4). | | Feb. 2 | Chemistry laboratory in the College of Science at Salahaddin University in Erbil, the capital of Kurdish-controlled Iraq | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | Biology laboratory in the College of Science at Salahaddin University in Erbil, the capital of Kurdish-controlled Iraq | | Feb. 1 | Waziriyah Industrial Complex | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site obtain clarifications on the present status of al-Samoud ballistic missile guidance and control activities and on the January semi-annual declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Al-Mamoun Factory | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site to obtain clarification on the latest declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Headquarters of the al-Raya General Company | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site to obtain clarification on the latest declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Biotechnology Department of the College of Science at Saddam University in Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | Biology Department of the College of Education at Saddam University in Baghdad | | Eastern Distillery Company in Baghdad | | Al-Shaheed State Company | | Tuz Airfield | Inspectors traveled to the site via helicopter to interview the senior officer present and to inspect the site’s ammunition storage areas and aircraft shelters (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Tho al-Fiker industrial machining and manufacturing facility north of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | College of Science at Saddam University in Baghdad | | College of Engineering at Saddam University in Baghdad | | Area southeast of Baghdad | IAEA inspectors conducted a motorized radiation survey (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Jan. 31 | Abu Ghraib Ammunition Factory | Inspectors visited the site’s production area, quality control, computer system and several warehouses (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Fallujah 2 | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Fallujah 3 | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Agricultural and Biological Research Center | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Former biological research facilities at Salman Pak | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Al-Yarmouk State Company | See GSN, Jan. 31. | | 7 Nissan Company in Nahrawan, about 20 miles east of Baghdad | | Agricultural equipment company in Waziriya in Baghdad | | Jan. 24- Jan. 30 | See GSN, Jan. 31. | |
During a detention hearing in Spokane, Washington, a former member of the U.S. National Guard and his ex-wife, a special education teacher, have been accused of having national security documents related to U.S. nuclear, chemical and biological capabilities, the Associated Press reported today.
The two have pleaded not guilty.
The documents have not been recovered and officials cannot describe their contents because they are classified, according to U.S. officials who spoke at the detention hearing for Rafael and Deborah Davila.
“More than 300 top-secret documents got passed,” said FBI agent Lee McEuen. He said they would be worth millions of dollars on the black market and of great interest to militias and terrorist groups.
“Based on that, I believe, they are a huge danger to the United States,” he said.
The United States cannot “at this time” prove that any foreign government was involved in obtaining the documents, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks (Nicholas Geranios, Associated Press/Seattle Times, Feb. 7).
 |
U.S. military officials, working with Seoul, may be investigating ways to reduce the military’s presence in South Korea, USNews.com reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 6).
Senior aides to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that modern military technology and improved South Korean armed forces allow a potential reduction in U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula. The move would not signify a weakened alliance between the two countries, USNews.com reported (Mark Mazzetti, USNews.com, Feb. 6).
During talks with South Korean envoy Chyung Dai-chul, Rumsfeld indicated Washington was willing to reduce forces from the peninsula if Seoul wanted, according to a South Korean television report.
U.S. officials said no such move was imminent, however.
“We have no intention of withdrawing forces from Korea. Our commitment remains strong to continue the stationing of our forces to deter the North’s threat and keep the regional balance,” said Thomas Hubbard, the U.S. ambassador to Seoul. “The capabilities of the Korean military have increased, and the balance in military aspects of the relationship has changed,” he added (Seo Hyun-jin, Korea Herald, Feb. 7).
Chyung himself denied the reports.
“I am the one who met with Rumsfeld. He did not mention a withdrawal or reduction of U.S. forces stationed in the South,” Chyung said. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney “did not make such a comment, either,” he added (Korea Herald, Feb. 7).
U.S. Can Fight in Two Theaters
Meanwhile, U.S. officials said yesterday that North Korea should not attempt to take advantage of the crisis in Iraq. The United States will maintain a strong military presence in the region to deter North Korean aggression, the New York Times reported.
“No options have been taken off the table,” said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during testimony yesterday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The options of sanctions, the option of additional political moves, no military option’s been taken off the table, although we have no intention of attacking North Korea as a nation,” he added (James Dao, New York Times, Feb. 7).
Powell also said the United States is capable of conducting simultaneous military action in Iraq and North Korea, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Senate Democrats, however, criticized the White House approach to the situation.
“North Korea is a grave threat that seems to grow with each day that passes without high-level engagement,” said Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (S.D.). “The president should stop downplaying this threat, start paying more attention to it, and immediately engage the North Koreans in direct talks,” he added.
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) accused the Bush administration of “designed neglect.”
Powell disagreed with this assessment.
“North Korea is a more direct threat to South Korea and to China and Russia than anyone else,” he said. “Now, those nations are also encouraging us: ‘Quick. Quick. Talk to the North Koreans.’ And we are prepared to engage with the North Koreans and we’re prepared to talk to them. But what we can’t find ourselves in the position of doing is essentially panicking at their activities and their demands,” Powell added (Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7).
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton yesterday said that Washington should offer Pyongyang food, energy and technology to abandon its nuclear aspirations.
“North Korea is a poor country. They can’t grow their own food. It’s the most isolated society in the world. Their only cash crops are bombs and missiles,” Clinton said during an appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live. “Nobody in the region wants them to have these weapons. The only reason they had weapons was either to sell them or to be paid not to sell them,” he added.
Clinton said that all regional partners must assure Pyongyang food, energy and security in exchange for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
“I think the diplomatic course is right,” Clinton said. “The president and the administration have said they want to handle it diplomatically, but I think you have to be firm in public and absolutely brutal in private. You cannot let them become a nuclear arsenal because the pressure on them to sell these bombs will be overwhelming. They have no other way to make money,” he added (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 7).
The United States needs to develop a new long-range, stealth bomber to meet potential threats, according to Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (see GSN, Jan. 2, 2002).
Hunter also said the United States needs at least 50 long-range stealth bombers and the Pentagon should reconsider its decision to retire more than 30 B-1 bombers (see GSN, April 5, 2002).
“I think we would be well-served to retrieve those out of the boneyard,” he said (Jim Skeen, Los Angeles Dail | |
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