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European caution after Iraq report
LONDON, England -- There has been cautious reaction in Europe to Washington and London's condemnation of Iraq in the wake of the U.N. weapons inspectors' report. A senior German minister said the U.S. response had been "somewhat surprising," while the French foreign minister said the U.N. Security Council should be convened to discuss the next step. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix has said Iraq has failed to provide evidence in its declaration which intended to prove that it no longer has weapons of mass destruction. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw immediately stressed the gravity of the implications of the report's findings. Powell said Iraq's declaration was "anything but current, accurate, full or complete" and that it "totally fails to meet the resolution's requirements." (Full story) Straw said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had his "finger on the trigger" of war. Britain is the staunchest ally of Washington, but other Europe nations have demanded proof that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction In Paris, French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin said that if Iraq reneges on its commitments to disarm, "the Security Council, on the basis of the report of Mr Blix, should be called together to examine the array of options, including the use of force." He also told France-Info radio that "if the international community decided to act, obviously, France would uphold its commitments." While UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has given unqualified backing to U.S. President George W. Bush's view that Saddam presents a threat to world peace, Germany is opposed to any military action and France tried to tone down the threat of war in U.N. security council resolution 1441. On Friday, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said he was surprised by the hostile U.S. reaction to Iraq's arms declaration. "The reaction from Washington is somewhat surprising," Struck told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio. "We had assumed that the report that Iraq has presented would be intensively checked by Hans Blix and his inspectors and it was assumed that there would be the opportunity for it first to be revisited or rather improved by Saddam Hussein." He added: "I assume that the serious words from Powell will prompt Iraq to provide any missing details. "The key to peace in the region lies with Saddam Hussein, who must fulfill the Security Council resolution." Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder made his refusal to send German troops to Iraq an election theme. Struck reiterated the concerns of the German government about a war: "Everybody must know that a war in Iraq would cost many lives, also those of American soldiers. "If it should come to a war in Iraq then one should of course expect that in this whole region, to which Afghanistan also belongs...there could be a more unstable situation than up until now." Russia -- one of five permanent members of the Security Council with veto power -- has opposed the use of force and especially any unilateral military action by Washington. In Italy, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Silvio Berlusconi has offered Washington total backing in its handling of the crisis. Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar gave strong support for Bush's "axis of evil" speech, saying it was a hugely significant moment in modern political history. In London, on Thursday, Straw said in a statement that while Hussein has his "finger on the trigger" he added that "this disclosure does not, of itself, trigger military action." He said: "There has already been one trigger pulled. They now, in a sense, have their finger on the other trigger. "The choice now as to whether this issue is resolved peacefully or the international community is forced to solve it by military action is a choice before Saddam Hussein." Earlier the British parliament debated the announcement by Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon on Wednesday that the UK has undertaken "contingency preparations" for possible military action against Iraq. Many of Blair's Labour Party MPs were among those opposed to military action. Labour's John Cryer said: "It is quite clear that America is going headlong into a war against Iraq and it looks as though the government is going to support them 100 percent. "Whichever minister or ministers gives the green light for an attack on Iraq will be responsible for the butchery of men, women and children on a massive scale and without any good reason whatever."
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The choice as to whether this issue is resolved peacefully or the international community is forced to solve it by military action is a choice before Saddam Hussein.
