ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:97111306.txt
DATE:11/13/97
TITLE:13-11-97 THE UNITED STATES CALLS IRAQI ACTIONS "UNACCEPTABLE"
TEXT:
(Clinton, Richardson on expulsion of Americans) (570)
By Judy Aita
USIA United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- President Clinton and other senior U.S. officials
November 13 called Iraq's decision to expel American weapons
inspectors from the country unacceptable and warned of further actions
if Iraq persists.
U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson said that "Iraq is pushing this issue
to the brink and there are going to be some grave consequences."
During interviews on morning television programs, Richardson also
called Iraq's actions "unacceptable" and stressed that Iraq's snub is
not just to the United States but to the entire international
community which wants to see Iraqi chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons and ballistic missiles eliminated.
"Iraq is defying the United Nations Security Council," Richardson
said. "It's pushing this issue...this is clearly violating what the
United Nations said yesterday, which was to restore the full capacity
of the U.N. inspection team that is going good work, that is trying to
prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction."
After a meeting with his national security team the President said
that Iraq's action was "clearly unacceptable and a challenge to the
international community."
"I intend to pursue this matter in a very determined way. It is
important to the safety of the world they continue their work,"
Clinton said.
On November 12, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution
condemning Iraq's decision to expel Americans working for the U.N.
Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons
(UNSCOM), threats to shoot down UNSCOM surveillance flights, and
tampering with UNSCOM's long-term monitoring equipment. The Council
demanded that Iraq immediately reverse its actions and imposed a
travel ban on Iraqi officials and military who are blocking UNSCOM
operations.
Tariq Aziz notified Secretary General Kofi Annan in the early morning
November 13 that all American UNSCOM employees must be out of Baghdad
by the end of the day and U-2 surveillance flights must stop.
UNSCOM can "perform its duties inside Iraq with the personnel it has,
with any personnel the executive chairman decides to send except
Americans," Tariq Aziz said. "If the executive chairman decides to
withdraw his personnel from Baghdad...he will bear the responsibility
for his decision."
Richardson said "Iraq should take heed of that united action by the
Security Council, by nations that formed the old coalition, and back
off and let the U.N. inspectors do their work."
While saying that the United States prefers "to let diplomacy work,"
Richardson pointed out that the resolution clearly says that "there
will be further measures."
He added that the United States feels that there is enough language
warning of serious consequences in the several resolutions that make
up the United Nations Gulf War cease-fire demands to justify military
action if needed.
The ambassador said that the United States is not ruling out any
options. "The military option is being considered," he said. "It is
something the President would decide, but this is something that is
going to be provoked, I would think, by continued Iraqi insistence on
violating the United Nations," Richardson said.
Richardson said that Iraq "is playing politics" by trying to determine
the nationality of the U.N. weapons inspectors. "This is a U.N.
inspection team...They're singling Americans out. Who's going to be
next? Those countries that voted against them yesterday?"
NNNN
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
