Top UN weapons inspectors arrived in Iraq yesterday for crucial disarmament talks as the US insisted that momentum for a possible war against Baghdad must be maintained.
Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei flew in to Baghdad from Cyprus for two-day talks before they are due to present a fresh report to the Security Council on Friday that could start a countdown to war.
Their trip coincided with news of a new Franco-German initiative to try to avert military conflict. It was announced by a German government spokesman following a Der Spiegel magazine report that it involved sending UN peace-keeping troops to Iraq and trebling the number of arms inspectors.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chief arms inspector Blix and ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, were to hold a first round of talks with Iraqi officials at 4pm Baghdad time. They had warned Iraq it must take drastic measures to avert a US-led attack to rid it of alleged weapons of mass destruction.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a security conference in Germany that the world was serious about disarming Baghdad and sharply rebuked France, Germany and Belgium for "inexcusable" stalling of NATO moves to protect Turkey from any war in its neighbor Iraq.
"No one wants war. War is never a first or an easy choice. But the risks of war need to be balanced against the risks of doing nothing while Iraq pursues weapons of mass destruction," Rumsfeld told the conference in Munich.
"Clearly, momentum is building, momentum that sends a critically important message to the Iraqi regime -- about our seriousness of purpose and the world's determination that Iraq disarm.
"This is not months or years, this is days or weeks we're going to know whether they are going to cooperate," he said.
"He [Iraqi President Saddam Hussein] has not been contained, he is successfully getting into that country darn near everything he wants."
Rumsfeld said NATO's failure to agree on even planning minimal defense measures for alliance member Turkey risked undermining NATO's credibility.
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany, a firm opponent of war on Iraq, replied that Berlin stood by NATO obligations but wanted to wait until after the UN inspectors' report.
Confirming the Franco-German initiative, a German government spokesman said: "I can confirm that there are joint considerations on finding a peaceful alternative to a military solution to the Iraq conflict." He gave no details.
The Spiegel report, citing a government source, said the plans were to be presented to the UN Security Council and would also involve stricter regulations on exports to Iraq and an agreement with Iraq's neighbors to stop oil smuggling.
As Blix and ElBaradei arrived in Iraq, thousands of armed volunteers, some wearing gas masks, paraded in the city of Tikrit, Saddam's birthplace 175km north of Baghdad.
US President George W. Bush has said the UN must soon decide whether to back America's demand that Iraq abandon its alleged chemical, biological and nuclear programs or be disarmed by force. Iraq denies having any such weapons.
Blix and ElBaradei said on Friday that securing private interviews with Iraqi scientists -- to protect informers from reprisals -- and spy plane flights were on their agenda.
Iraq has refused to allow U2 spy planes to fly over its territory, which the US says are needed to monitor sites it alleges are being demolished or doctored by Iraq.
Iraq made some concession by letting inspectors hold four private interviews with Iraqi scientists on Thursday and Friday.
"It is clearly positive that the interviews with the scientists were conducted in private," Jacques Baute, a senior IAEA inspector accompanying ElBaradei, told reporters.
Blix has warned Baghdad that inspections could only work with "active cooperation from Iraq, not on process but on substance". ElBaradei has called for a meeting with Saddam, which he said would greatly help in getting better cooperation.
Babel, Iraq's most influential newspaper, said Baghdad would do its best to make the visit a success.
The leaders of France and China, both veto-holding Security Council members, have told Bush they want to avoid war amid a huge US military buildup around the Gulf.
Bush insists he would welcome a new UN resolution that backs up the demands of a resolution the Security Council approved in November warning of serious consequences if Iraq did not give up weapons of mass destruction.
Diplomats said a new Security Council resolution seeking international legitimacy for war may not include a deadline for Saddam to comply, or explicitly authorize force.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim