A rchive Date
[ 04-09-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Germany ]
|
[http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/germanyiraq_sep4-ap.html
Germany maintains opposition to Iraq attack
By TONY CZUCZKA-- Associated Press
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
BERLIN (AP) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder rebuffed calls by Britain for Europe to help the United States against Iraq, saying Wednesday that Germany won't tone down its opposition to military action and won't "submit" to Washington
In blunt comments, Schroeder said Tony Blair does not speak for all Europe, a day after the British prime minister declared Iraq "a real and unique threat" to world security and said the United States "should not have to face this issue alone."
The exchange highlighted international opposition to the prospect of a U.S. attack on Iraq - despite Blair's attempts to rally support for Washington.
At the World Summit in Johannesburg, top European Union leaders met with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday to lobby against any unilateral U.S. action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying Washington should work through the United Nations for a return of weapons inspectors.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Powell has assured him that Washington puts "the strongest importance" on international involvement in the Iraq case.
Schroeder defended his outspoken opposition to an attack on Iraq, which he has said could hurt the war on terrorism and cause chaos in the Middle East.
"Friendship cannot mean that you do what the friend wants even if you have another opinion," he told a news conference in Berlin. "Anything else would not be friendship, but submission - and I would consider that wrong."
"With all respect for Tony Blair: Just like anyone else, he will not speak for Europe alone on this issue or on others," he said. "We have absolutely no reason to change our well-founded position. Under my leadership, Germany will not take part in an intervention in Iraq."
Schroeder also confirmed that Germany would withdraw six armored personnel carriers equipped to detect nuclear, chemical and biological warfare from Kuwait if the United States launches an attack on Iraq. The vehicles were deployed as part of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
In Washington, President Bush was to meet with leaders from Congress on Wednesday and administration officials said he would promise to seek congressional approval once he decided how to deal with Saddam.
Bush says ousting Saddam is a priority but that he hasn't decided what action to take. Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the administration have called for a pre-emptive attack on Iraq, which is accused of seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Blair has said his government plans to publish a dossier on Saddam's weapons programs, and a British Foreign Office official said Wednesday he believed the report would be "very convincing."
"As far as nuclear weapons are concerned we believe that (Saddam) is in the process of developing that capacity," Mike O'Brien, a junior minister in the Foreign Office, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Referring to ballistic missile technology, O'Brien said, "We believe he's in the process of trying to get that, so we'll set out all the details and the evidence in the dossier." He did not say if the report would have any previously unpublished information.
In Cairo, Arab foreign ministers opened a meeting on Wednesday at which the U.S. threats on Iraq were high on the agenda. Baghdad has been seeking Arab support, but some Arab governments have been pressing for Iraq to accept U.N. weapons inspectors.
In his talks with Powell in South Africa, Denmark's Fogh Rasmussen said that while there is "no doubt" Saddam is dangerous, Washington should not try to deal with the Iraqi leader alone.
"It is vitally important to pursue the U.N. track," said Fogh Rasmussen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
Powell has said the United States should first try to force a return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq before deciding the next step, though Cheney has said making inspections a priority would be counterproductive. Heading to Johannesburg, Powell acknowledged there were differences in the administration, adding, "Some are real, some are perceived, some are overhyped."
He said it was "premature" to say what "will or should happen" if Saddam continues to refuse the U.N. Security Council's demands.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
|