Rice: Call for more UN inspections lowers pressure on Iraq
WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush's national security adviser said on Sunday calls for more time for United Nations inspectors to hunt for illegal Iraqi weapons relieves pressure on President Saddam Hussein to disarm.National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice also told NBC's "Meet the Press" the United States was working on winning support for a new resolution on Iraq at the UN Security Council, where Washington has faced increased resistance over the last week.
Key countries on the 15-member Security Council, particularly veto-carrying France, have pressed for UN inspectors to continue looking for alleged banned weapons of mass destruction.
But the United States says the inspections are failing and the world body should consider further authorizing force to eliminate the threat it says Iraq's arms programs pose to nations around the world.
"Continuing to talk about more time and more time is basically going to relieve pressure on the Iraqis to do what they must do," Rice said in answer to a question about French support for an additional report from inspectors to the council next month.
While Rice said the United States had not set deadlines in its aim of disarming Iraq of its alleged banned weapons, she added, "It is time for this to end. Enough is enough."
"The UN Security Council is unfortunately getting a history of being unable to react," Rice said. "The Security Council needs to show resolve."
Asked if the United States could count on enough votes for a new resolution to pass the Security Council on Iraq, Rice said, "We are prepared to work toward that end. We will see where we come out."
U.S., U.K. rework resolution to authorize force against Iraq
Rattled by an outpouring of anti-war sentiment, the United States and Britain began reworking a draft resolution to authorize force against Saddam Hussein.
Diplomats said Saturday that the final product may be a softer text that does not explicitly call for war.
Before Friday's dramatic Security Council meeting, where weapons inspectors gave a relatively favorable accounting of Iraq's recent cooperation, U.S. and British diplomats said they had been preparing a toughly worded resolution that would give them UN backing for military action.
British diplomats had said then that any resolution would have to include an authorization of force. They described working versions of the draft as short, simply worded texts that found Iraq in "material breach" of its obligations and reiterated that Saddam now faces "serious consequences" as a result.
In diplomatic terms, coupling the consequences with material breach would be tantamount to an authorization.
But the measured reports by inspectors, in addition to massive global opposition to war - expressed both in the council and in the streets - came as a blow to their plans.
The two English-speaking allies had hoped to push through a new resolution quickly, and there had even been talk of a Saturday council meeting to introduce it. But their plans were put on hold Friday after staunch opposition - led by France, Russia and China - drew rare applause inside the council chamber.
British and American diplomats conceded they would need to go home, consider the views of others and soften the tone of the draft.
Adding to the pressure, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in an interview Saturday with Abu Dhabi Television that another resolution, following up on Resolution 1441, which was passed in November, would be necessary if force was used against Saddam.
"I think a second resolution, following through on the conditions of 1441, is necessary," Annan said.
Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram said, "The situation is very fluid and so is the language right now."
He said a resolution giving Saddam an ultimatum to relinquish power or be removed by force was still an option. But Akram said it would be very hard for Pakistan - a key ally for the United States despite an anti-American population at home - to vote in favor of any resolution authorizing war.
Others council members agreed.
While U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said after Friday's meeting that there was no talk of compromise yet, some diplomats said privately that it was the responsibility of the five council powers - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - to negotiate a way out of the impasse over Iraq.
Unless that happens, U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are unlikely to gain UN support for a war to disarm Iraq. While they may be prepared to act without it, UN backing would offer international legitimacy and a guarantee that reconstruction costs would be shared.
1,500 Israelis protest war on Iraq, joining millions worldwide
An estimated 1,500 Israelis and Palestinians marched on the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night, joining millions of people in cities around the world in a display of opposition to a threatened U.S.-led strike against Iraq.
Marchers said their opposition to a war was based on moral and ideological reasons rather than fear, even though Israel is a potential target for Iraqi missiles.
About 20 counter-demonstrators from Sharon's Likud party called the anti-war protesters traitors and likened Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler, but there was no violence.
The Tel Aviv marchers added their voice to hundreds of thousands of protesters worldwide. London had one of the largest marches for peace - at least a million people, organizers claimed, although initial police estimates were around 750,000. They hoped to heap pressure on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been Europe's biggest supporter of the tough U.S. policy.
Several hundred Palestinians joined the international outcry against war in Iraq, battling heavy rain and cold weather to demonstrate in Ramallah.
The demonstrators, who included intellectuals, political activists, students and professionals, carried a picture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and banners denouncing US war plans and demanding "No War".
They shouted slogans against U.S. President George Bush, calling him a "war monger", and against ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
There was another huge turnout in Rome, where many in the crowd displayed rainbow "peace" flags. Organizers claimed three million people participated, while a police official put the crowd at around one million.
Hundreds of thousands marched through Berlin, backing a strong anti-war stance spearheaded by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Police estimated the crowd at between 300,000 and 500,000.
Hundreds of thousands marched in Paris, shouting slogans against the war and U.S. President George Bush. Some of those in the first rows of the march were recognizeable figures from the nationalist movement of right-wing leader Jean-Marie Le Pen alongside well-known members of the extreme left.
Police estimated that 60,000 turned out in Oslo, Norway, 50,000 in bitter cold in Brussels, while about 35,000 gathered peacefully in frigid Stockholm.
Crowds were estimated at 25,000 in Copenhagen, 10,000 in Amsterdam, 5,000 in Capetown and 4,000 in Johannesburg in South Africa, 5,000 in Tokyo, 3,000 in Vienna and 2,000 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Anti-war activists hoped to draw 100,000 people to the streets in New York City later for a protest near the United Nations. Police were planning extensive security that included sharpshooters and radiation detectors.
In Baghdad, tens of thousands of Iraqis, many carrying Kalashnikovs, demonstrated across their country to support Saddam Hussein and denounce the United States.
By Daniel Ben Simon (Paris) and Yam Yehoshua, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies