30 July 2004
Powell Flags Issues for Study in Saudi Muslim-Force Initiative
Secretary discusses Sudan resolution, Iran's nuclear ambitions
Secretary of State Colin Powell outlined some of the issues that would have to be addressed prior to implementation of the Saudi initiative to assemble an all-Muslim force to contribute to security operations in Iraq.
Speaking to reporters in Kuwait July 29, the secretary said that the United States and the United Nations would have to study issues related to chain of command and troop substitution.
"The Saudis thought it would be appropriate to make a separate reporting chain up to the U.N. officials," Powell said. "But there is not now a U.N. official being empowered by a Security Council Resolution to serve in that kind of role. And Prime Minster Allawi has some concerns about doing it that way."
He also said that coalition and U.N. leaders would have to study whether the proposed forces would come in as an addition to existing forces or as a substitution force on a one-to-one troop-substitution basis.
Ultimately, he said, "the final decision on this will have to be made by Prime Minster Allawi and his government as the sovereign, of course working in concert with the United Nations and coalition commanders under General Casey and General Abizaid."
Powell also fielded questions regarding the change of wording in the U.N. Security Council resolution on Darfur. A new draft resolution omits the word "sanctions," instead threatening the Sudanese government with the more ambiguous term "measures," should it fail to address the security situation in Darfur within the next 30 days.
The secretary characterized the new resolution as a "calibrated" approach to the situation.
"There is a concern that we don't want to put so much pressure on the Sudanese government, because of internal problems that might make the situation worse," Powell said. "At the same time, everybody recognizes that pressure is needed, or else we would not be getting any action at all."
He added, "It is not an easy task for them to turn off this Jingaweit crowd and other militias that may be out there. At the same time the rebels have to be made to understand that this is not being done so that they can take advantage of the situation."
When asked about recent news from Tehran that the Iranian government intends to renew work on its nuclear program, Powell responded, "I think it is getting more and more likely that this matter is going to have to be referred to the Security Council."
"It is our judgment that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, and a nuclear weapons program," Powell said.
Until now, the United States has resisted putting pressure on the IAEA to refer the matter to the Security Council, allowing Britain, France and Germany -- collectively known as the EU 3 -- to take the lead in seeking a negotiated solution with the Iranian government.
Powell said, however, that "they have not met their commitments to the EU 3 and we still believe that they are not fully in compliance with their IAEA obligations."
Following is a transcript of Powell's remarks to the press:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Kuwait City, Kuwait)
July 30, 2004
REMARKS
REMARKS TO THE PRESS BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL
Bayan Palace
Kuwait City, Kuwait
July 29, 2004
QUESTION: The Iraqi National Conference ... they announced a delay. Do you have anything to say about that?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I think it speaks for itself. It was really was a function of whether they were actually ready for it, and we've been discussing this for several days with Iraqi Interim Government officials and with the United Nations. Over the last several days it started to look like it might be better to delay it for a while to make sure we do it right, rather than do it in haste. And so, I'm confident it'll go ahead. I had a good conversation with Prime Minister Allawi about it this morning, and his Minister of Planning, and I discussed it with Ambassador Negroponte this afternoon. And it's something the UN has strongly recommended (inaudible). It speaks for itself, which is why they're doing it.
QUESTION: Could I ask you about the unanswered questions that you mentioned about the Saudi proposal? Specifically, what the unanswered questions are, chain of command issues, and also how long do you think it will take to sort through all of these issues?
SECRETARY POWELL: On the second question, I can't tell you how long it will take. It's really a matter for the Saudis to work out with the Iraqi Interim Government, with Prime Minster Allawi. And they've also been in touch with the Secretary General directly and with us and with others. The kinds of questions that we are looking at have to do with the nature of the proposal in order to garner the support of Muslim nations and populations there. The Saudis thought it would be appropriate to make a separate reporting chain up to the UN officials. But there is not now a UN official being empowered by a Security Council Resolution to serve in that kind of role. And Prime Minster Allawi has some concerns about doing it that way. It's just one of the things that we are looking at to see if there is a way to work around that.
They wanted an invitation from the Interim Government and Prime Minister Allawi has extended invitations to nations. The question of whether or not this complements what is being done by the coalition forces or it's a one-for-one substitution, if Muslim troops come in (inaudible) the same number of Coalition forces, non-Muslim, would leave. And that's something that would have to be looked at, too.
So, those kinds of issues have been raised, but we're very appreciative of the Saudi proposal and we'll be looking at it. But the final decision on this will have to be made by Prime Minster Allawi and his government as the sovereign, of course working in concert with the United Nations and coalition commanders under General Casey and General Abizaid.
QUESTION: Can I follow upon that, Mr. Secretary? Some of these conditions, according to the UN, replacing an existing number of coalition forces might be necessary in some of these Arab countries where, as you know, public opinion is a little reluctant to send troops to what is still perceived as an American or Western-led effort. How do you combat that? Are there any particular deal breakers for you and do you understand the sensitivity?
SECRETARY POWELL: I do understand the sensitivity, as do the Saudis. That's why they came forward with these ideas, as a way of dealing with concerns expressed in Muslim countries. But, a lot has been done over the last month and half really, to deal with some of the concerns that have been expressed. Sovereignty has been transferred. It is now the Iraqi sovereign Interim Government that is in charge of the country, and a number of nations said that they would like to see an invitation directly from the new Interim Government, and they received those invitations. They also said they wanted to see a Security Council Resolution that would give substance to all of this and we've provided that in 1546. So the Saudis say, "maybe there's more we can do," and that is the genesis of the idea. And we'll pursue it and see if it's workable.
QUESTION: You decided to drop the word "sanctions" and insert the word "measures." (inaudible)
SECRETARY POWELL: I think we always were confident of the vote. We always want to get maximum support for a resolution, and the word "measure" does not exclude anything that might be a measure. But it seemed to be a word that would be more acceptable to a broader number of members of the Security Council. And we're talking to the members now. The Mission is hard at work in New York and I'll be making phone calls, and we'll see how the vote goes, hopefully tomorrow.
QUESTION: Is this a compromise word?
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't think so. No, I mean measures are measures. Whenever we have a resolution tabled, you go through a process of shaping, re-wording, negotiating, finding language that would serve the intended purpose of the resolution, but would get the maximum number of votes in support of the resolution, because its best in the international community to speak with a unified voice. And that's the process we go through in the writing of these resolutions, and that's the process we're going through now. And the word "measures," -- you can pick any definition of what measures mean, or what might be included in measures, -- seem to be attractive to a number of members of the Council (inaudible).
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, were you surprised by the Egyptian reaction on Darfur and the statements that they made yesterday, and what does that do to your efforts?
SECRETARY POWELL: There is concern about the imposition of sanctions, and we had conversations about this yesterday with all of the Egyptian officials that I met with. There is a concern that we don't want to put so much pressure on the Sudanese government, because of internal problems that might make the situation worse. At the same time, everybody recognizes that pressure is needed, or else we would not be getting any action at all. If it hadn't been for the pressure that was applied earlier this month, I think, by visits by me, by Secretary General Annan, and other ministers who have been there, we wouldn't have seen the increased access that we have seen. We wouldn't have seen some beginning of understanding that something has to be done about the security issue.
And so, the Egyptians are troubled by the situation and they will be, I think, in touch with the Sudanese government to encourage them to do everything possible. But there is debate, and it's the same debate that we've seen in New York, as to how much pressure one should put on the Sudanese government at this time And should they be given more time to deal with the security issue? It is not an easy task for them to turn off this Jingaweit crowd and other militias that may be out there. At the same time the rebels have to be made to understand that this is not being done so that they can take advantage of the situation. And so, we have been calibrating the pressure that we've been applying over the last month to make sure that the message goes clearly to the Sudanese that we are expecting action on their part, but we're giving them the necessary time to take that action.
They've had almost a month now since I visited and Secretary General Annan visited, and others have been visiting. And this resolution gives them another month, but says at the end of that month the Security Council, remaining seized with this matter ... our favorite expression ... we'll look at it again to see what measures might be necessary. There are lots of other ideas out there. As you know, Congress has passed a resolution declaring the Congress' judgment that it is genocide. Other nations have made other statements about what they might be prepared to do. And so, we are applying pressure in a calibrated way, in order to achieve a solution that's successful.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said today that they were negotiating with the United States and Poland to reduce forces in Iraq and eventually withdraw before their mandate runs out. Can you elaborate on these reports?
SECRETARY POWELL: I haven't heard this report, no.
QUESTION: And, secondly, are you concerned that a delay in the National Conference might lead to a delay in the election schedule (inaudible)?
MR. SECRETARY: No, they're not linked to one another, and so I wouldn't draw that conclusion. When you consider that the government just came into power on the 28th of June, and they had to pull this all together by the end of July, that was a pretty demanding task. And it took them a while to get started. And it took a while for the UN to get people in to work with them. And the UN representatives are there now. They've been there for about two weeks, and when they saw the progress that had been made, they thought more could be done. And they suggested the delay -- they've been suggesting it for about the last week. And Secretary General Annan and I have talked about, Condi has talked to the Secretary General about it, and we considered judgment made finally this morning by the Iraqi Interim Government that it would be wiser to take a two week delay and do it right. Make sure you have the right representation, make sure the conference isn't misused in any way. I think it was a smart decision. I don't think it necessarily links to the election schedule.
QUESTION: What are your concerns about the latest news out of Tehran about them making some announcements, possibly taking some steps to further develop their nuclear program? Have you been in touch with France and Germany? Maybe there is the prospect of getting this through the Security Council now and do you think the US will a better ability to get that done?
SECRETARY POWELL: We have been saying all along that this was a major problem for the international community. We've been saying it since this Administration came in. We have been applying pressure. We've done it through the IAEA, we have done it through the Russians. We've made it clear to the Iranians that it is a problem for the international community for them to move in this direction. A lot of people didn't believe us, or thought we were overstating the case. Finally, the evidence became clear that the Iranians were not being candid, not telling the IAEA everything that they should have been telling them.
The European Foreign Ministers got involved and placed demands on the Iranians. They thought that their demands were being met, only to discover that the Iranians were not meeting the commitments they had made. The EU political directors are in the process of discussing this matter -- the EU 3 political directors -- and are in touch with the Iranians and we'll just have to wait and see what the Iranians actually do. They say that they are removing the seals on some of the material that was sealed by the IAEA. And I hope this is a matter of concern to the IAEA and they'll be speaking out about it. And, of course, we'll review all of this in September when the IAEA meets and it'll be reviewed again in November at the subsequent meeting of the IAEA. But, it seems to me that this is a troubling development that has to be noted by the international community, and you just can't ignore it any longer. And so we'll see what happens at the IAEA meeting in September and I think it is getting more and more likely that this matter is going to have to be referred to the Security Council.
QUESTION: Just to follow up, have you been in touch in recent days with any of your counterparts?
SECRETARY POWELL: Yes, I have talked to a number of my counterparts about this over the weekend, not since I've been on the road.
QUESTION: (inaudible)
SECRETARY POWELL: I have said consistently that it is our judgment that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, and a nuclear weapons program. And we'll all have to take note of this. And we have attempted through IAEA action, the actions of the EU 3, working with Russia, to persuade them, to suggest to them that this is not the direction in which they wish to move. But, so far they have given no indication that we will accept that they are moving in such a direction. And frankly, they have not met their commitments to the EU 3 and we still believe that they are not fully in compliance with their IAEA obligations.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you have an evaluation of the EU response? The Iranians were exposed over a month ago. (inaudible). Are you happy with what they've done to date?
SECRETARY POWELL: I have pointed out to my EU colleagues -- my three EU colleagues -- that they played an important role last fall in working with the Iranians to extract these commitments: commitments that were then presented to the entire European Union and the IAEA as evidence of progress toward resolving this problem. And now Iran has made it clear that they don't intend to abide by all those commitments. My three Foreign Minister colleagues are concerned about this and they are working on the problem. And I stay in close touch with them. And I've made it clear to them that we believe that they must insist on their commitments being met, that they've received from the Iranians, and they have to factor it into any other actions the European Union might be thinking of taking either in the economic sphere, the political sphere or elsewhere. It's a very troubling development.
Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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