A solution at hand?
All sides in the current Iraq-UN-US standoff are voicing their preference for a diplomatic solution. Over the weekend, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein said in a statement published by the Iraqi News Agency that he would welcome a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
France added its voice to the call for diplomacy, with its ambassador to the US, Francois Bujon De L'Estang, saying that while France has "full solidarity" with the UN and US stance, it still wants to see the situation resolved peacefully.
However, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering pointed the finger of blame for the crisis at France, Russia and China for abstaining from an otherwise unanimous Security Council vote a month ago on further sanctions, which led Hussein to believe that "he could get away with his decision." Pickering suggested that the abstentions sent a message that the Security Council was not united on the issue of sanctions.
The US is beefing up its military presence by sending an additional aircraft carrier group, the George Washington, to join the Nimitz group which is already in the Gulf.
While the Security Council approved further sanctions last week in addition to condemning the Iraqi expulsion order against American weapons inspectors serving on the UN teams, Arab feelings are not in support of military action to resolve the crisis.
US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has encountered these feelings in her tour to garner support for a stronger US position and possible US military action against Iraq. Most notable were Kuwait's statement that it does not foresee a military solution to the problem and call for the US to find a diplomatic solution. Similar views were expressed by Saudi officials. Saudi Arabia's views are critical to this crisis, as it holds a pivotal though discrete role in this crisis.
One such solution may be expressed in what seems to be a US effort to find a middle ground to resolve the current crisis with Iraq. Reports indicate that the US is putting emphasis on returning the UN weapons inspection team to Iraq. US officials are hinting at flexibility as to the composition of the UN inspection team, as long as the decision is made by chief UN inspector Richard Butler.
Meanwhile, U-2 flights are expected to begin at any time. Iraq maintains that it will shoot down the surveillance planes, saying that it would not recognize them as UN planes, but as US spies gathering information for a military mission.
Support from Islamic leaders to the Iraqi position has also increased, the latest of which making statements against the US. Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, the Dean of the Arabic Department at Al Azhar University Dr. Saad Zalam, and Egyptian Mufti (Religious Judge) Nasr Al Din Farid--said that US threats against the Iraqi people are to be considered an insult to all Muslims.