Tag: War

Horsetrading at the UN

In order to obtain an unforgiving resolution from the UN Security Council, the United States is providing a wide range of concessions to the members of the Council. The Boston Globe has China asking the US to stop interfering in Tibet and Taiwan. France and Russia are asking for concessions on Iraqi oil. Russia would also like American sympathy with its actions in Georgia.

Bush Makes Case

President Bush addressed the nation last night to lay out his policy for Iraq. No new evidence was presented -- some compared it to "closing arguments" that a prosecutor would make at the end of a trial. The three major networks did not carry the speech, indicating that the White House did not request the coverage. That did not stop the White House from being somewhat disappointed over the lack of coverage. Read more for the major points.

Congress Argues, Filibuster Likely

The House and the Senate are well into the debate, but all the drama is in the Senate. House Democratic leaders have already pledged to back a bipartisan bill. The Senate Democrats are more unruly. Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) is backing a resolution, while Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) leads the opposition. In any case, a resolution is almost guaranteed to pass. To register his disapproval, Senator Byrd has pledged to filibuster the Senate vote, delaying it for up to 30 hours. A Congressional resolution is important not just for constitutional reasons, but because President Bush needs the backing of congress in his push for new UN Security Council resolutions.

Blair Links Iraq, Israel

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told members of a Labour Party conference in Blackpool last Tuesday that is important to restart the Israeli-Palenstinian peace talks in light of the pending UN action against Iraq. He alluded to the UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which together call for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and a dialogue for final resolution of the problem. He expressed concern over a double-standard in applying resolution to Iraq and Israel.

Modest Progress on UN Resolution

There appears to be modest progress on a new UN Security Council resolution. The US has long demanded that any new resolution on Iraqi weapons inspections have "teeth," citing a decade of obstruction by the Iraqi government. France, China, Russia and others have stressed that diplomatic and political efforts are more effective than putting a gun to Iraq's head. A consensus is building around a resolution which mentions dire consequences of attack, but does not explicitly authorize the use of force.

Blix Visits Washington

UNMOVIC head Hans Blix visited Washington to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. They told him to "not take no for an answer," and demand to inspect whatever he liked, whenever he liked, in Iraq. They also told him to wait until the quickly-evolving UN Security Council resolution was passed before he began inspections. Blix has said that despite the talks with Iraq in Vienna, there were "loose ends" that a new Security Council resolution would resolve. The Security Council has basically agreed that new inspection rules are necessary, but there is a strong disagreement over whether the rules should be enforced by threat of force -- France, China and Russia would all like to leave the military option for a second resolution to be enacted only if Iraq proves uncooperative.

CIA Stiffs Congress on Iraq Documents

The Central Intelligence Agency has refused to provide documents on its role in Iraq to the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Committee wants to know what the CIA is doing in Iraq, and how it can be coordinated with military and political efforts. No reason was given for the refusal, but many speculate that the report would have highlighted the infighting between the Pentagon and the CIA over their activity in Iraq -- and could possibly be construed as second-guessing the President. This comes at a time when the CIA already in hot water with Congress for bungling September 11th.