Hopes for peaceful settlement to Iraqi crisis
Arab and international efforts were underway on Monday with intensive diplomatic activity aimed at ending the crisis between Iraq and the UN peacefully.
In the US, Secretary General of the United Nations is doing preperatory work for a Wednesday trip (according to a previous report by ArabicNews.com quoting Iraq's foreign minister, unconfirmed by Annan) while a UN team in Iraq is doing survey and preperatory work for such a trip.
In contrast to the diplomatic efforts, the US seems to be attempting to shore and increase support for an attack against Iraq as US president Bill Clinton makes efforts to promote his agenda on Iraq and by sending his cabinet members to explain the US position and objectives to the US public.
While speaking at the US Pentagon today, General Hugh Shelton, Joint Chiefs Chairman, said "the situation remains tense" as international diplomatic efforts continue. While Secretary of Defense William Cohen said "Today we still hope that a diplomatic solutions can be still found ", But "Iraq must understand that our patience is not infinite."
But the best hope for a solution came from Clinton himself today while speaking at the Pentagon said that the "there can be no dilution" to "the essence" of the UN resolutions, which call for unfettered access, if he accepts them, then that is fine, otherwise he (Saddam Hussein) is to blame. With these words, Clinton may have given UN's Annan the compromise tool he needs to wrap a resolution to this crisis, where the emphasize can be on "the essence" of the UN resolution. The US president was insistent that the US will act if it had to, warning of future consequences, if the international community fails to act.
The congress failed to act on a resolution of support to the US president indicating that the objectives of such mission are not clear, and are not likely to succeed as a recent congressional report "Task force on terrorism and unconventional warfare" says.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia stressed the necessity of using all diplomatic means to find a suitable solution to the current crisis between Iraq and the UN. Following the weekly meeting of the Saudi Cabinet on Monday chaired by King Fahd, Saudi Information Minister Fuad al-Farisi said King Fahd reiterated his country's stand in favor of putting an end to the sufferings of the people of Iraq.
King Fahd stressed that Iraq must abide by UN resolutions, especially those pertaining to the mission of the UN inspection team. The Saudi Cabinet renewed Saudi Arabia's assertion of the need to implement international resolutions and to reach a just and comprehensive solution which restores Arab rights and lands, implying Iraeli occupation of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian lands.
Yemen on Monday restated its opposition to a US military strike against Iraq, calling for exerting further diplomatic efforts to reach a solution to the crisis between Iraq and the UN.
In Libya, the Democratic Arab Dialogue Forum strongly condemned the British and US military buildup in the Arab Gulf area. In its statement Monday, the forum said the military strike against Iraq aims at "terrifying the Arab nation and imposing surrender on the Arab people."
In Athens AFP quoted Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, currently visiting Greece, as saying following his meeting with his Greek counterpart, that Russia and Greece believe the violence in the region will lead to dangerous results, and that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to Baghdad will be a positive step.
In Ankara, thousands of Turkish citizens on Monday demonstrated near the US consulate, condemning use of military force against Iraq. The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed concern over using the military force to settle a diplomatic dispute.