Western diplomats surprised by airstrikes on Iraq

VIDEO CNN's Jane Arraf was in Baghdad when the strike occurred (February 16) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     INTERACTIVE MAP Map of no-fly zone     MESSAGE BOARD Iraq airstrike

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Western diplomats at the United Nations were caught by surprise by Friday's airstrikes in Iraq by American and British warplanes.

"I certainly was not expecting this, in particular," a senior western diplomat told CNN. Another said he was "stunned" by the bombing.

All of them expected the new U.S. administration to try to work on a solution to the Iraqi question within the United Nations and not act on their own.

They all said Tuesday's visit by new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations was one reason for their astonishment. During a meeting with the four other Security Council permanent members -- Britain, Russia, France and China -- Powell stressed the importance of dialogue and compromise with the other members, diplomats said.

Diplomats were surprised by the fact that U.S and British aircraft bombed targets that are outside the no-fly zone. Warplanes targeted Iraqi air defense facilities south of Baghdad that included radar systems that have been threatening American and British aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone, the Pentagon said.

One senior Western diplomat, however, said Powell during the U.N. briefing differentiated between the actions of the U.S. as a U.N. member and as a nation. The diplomat said that he read that as a hint that the Bush administration had not closed off any option, including the military one.

The same diplomat said that he was more surprised by the fact that Britain took part in the air strike. Rumors that Britain was reassessing its policy toward Iraq and intended to stop bombing in the no-fly zone have been spreading recently at the United Nations.

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