US takes less-confrontational towards Iraq
Responding to Iraqi statements that UN weapons inspectors who try to enter sensitive sites, that have been agreed upon to be off limits, will be thrown out of the country, US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson said, "I don't think anybody should overreact."
"We will be working jointly with our allies on the Security Council if there are any problems," Richardson said in response to Iraqi statements that the UN inspection team will not be allowed into sites that affect Iraqi sovereignty. This seeming change of tone, a less-confrontational stance by the US, is in stark contrast to the defiant statements coming out of Iraq.
In a continuing effort to garner international support, a US military official has indicated that "in no case have we been turned down" by any Arab allies in the region concerning the US military buildup. But he emphasized that the US did not currently have support to take action.
General Tony Zinni of the US armed forces stated that if military action is called for, it will be "far more than a pinprick." He continued to say that the US allies in the region "bear the majority of the cost" and that UN sanctions could not be enforced without their support. Zinni also stated that there will be consultation and that the US has agreed to stay in touch with its regional allies.
The US was not able to obtain support from the Arab Allies for military action as an official Saudi statement reported by the Saudi paper Okaz made clear: "The king expressed the extreme satisfaction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the way the crisis between Iraq and U.N had ended."
In related developments, chief UN arms inspector Richard Butler has stated that the current focus of the weapons inspections is on "getting our database back, discovering what happened while we were away." Butler said that the process would take a week or two.
Butler also accused Iraq of preventing the UN inspection team from "seeing what we have a right to see" by declaring those sites sensitive.
The UN team in Iraq continued its function unhindered.