14 November 1997
TRANSCRIPT: ALBRIGHT, COOK DISCUSS INCREASING PRESSURE ON IRAQ
("Our quarrel is not with Iraqi people," Sec. State says) (1980)
Edinburgh -- Secretary of State Albright met with Robin Cook, the
foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, here November 14 to discuss
"ways in which together we could increase the pressure on Saddam
Hussein."
"The Foreign Secretary informed me of Britain's intention to beef up
its forces in the Gulf at the same time we are doing so," she told
reporters at the Stakis Hotel. "Hopefully, this will help persuade
Saddam Hussein that there is no salvation in defiance and no reward
for recalcitrance."
Albright and Cook also discussed "ways in which we could better
address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people through the
mechanisms adopted by Security Council Resolution 986," Albright said.
"Our quarrel is not with the Iraqi people," she stressed. "We want to
alleviate their suffering."
"I know the British and the Americans have felt all along that we had
great sympathy with the Iraqi people," Albright continued. While
Saddam seeks to shift the blame to the United Nations, he "seems to
have plenty to entertain himself and his cronies, while the people of
Iraq are starving."
Following is the transcript of Albright and Cook's remarks:
(Begin transcript)
SECRETARY COOK: Can I welcome you all, and a particularly warm welcome
to the Secretary of State for visiting me in my home town, which I
much appreciate? Madeleine's going to begin with a statement and then
I'll add a few words of my own, before we take some questions.
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you. Well, Robin, I'm delighted to be here
in Scotland and to have had opportunity to consult with a very good
friend.
Our meeting today is yet another demonstration of the close and strong
ties which bind our two nations, especially in times of crisis. The
issue concentrated on today was Saddam Hussein's continued refusal to
comply with the united will of the international community, as
expressed in repeated Security Council resolutions and presidential
statements.
Iraq's eviction of UNSCOM personnel is but the most recent example of
this belligerent behavior. UNSCOM has been doing vital work depriving
Saddam Hussein of the weapons of mass destruction and it must be
allowed to do its work. Yet again, the Council last night unanimously
condemned in the strongest terms this latest in a series of
unacceptable actions, demanded its revocation and reiterated its
warning of the serious consequences of Iraq's failure to do so.
At some point, hopefully soon, Saddam Hussein will get the message
that he has no choice but to come back into compliance with the
requirements of the UN Security Council resolutions. Foreign Secretary
Cook and I discussed ways in which together we could increase the
pressure on Saddam Hussein.
In this context the Foreign Secretary informed me of Britain's
intention to beef up its forces in the Gulf at the same time as we are
doing so. Hopefully this will help persuade Saddam Hussein that there
is no salvation in defiance and no reward for recalcitrance. We agreed
to maintain intensive contacts with our P-5 colleagues, Russia, France
and China, who have special responsibility to ensure that UNSCOM is
able to resume its work unimpeded; and we also discussed ways in which
we could better address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people
through the mechanisms established by Security Council Resolution 986.
Our quarrel is not with the Iraqi people: we want to help alleviate
their suffering.
Obviously the Foreign Secretary and I are going to remain in close
touch as we seek to promote our common interests in immediate Iraqi
compliance with UNSCOM. The task will not be easily completed, but
with friends like Robin Cook and United Kingdom I know we will
prevail.
SECRETARY COOK: Can I first of all say I agree with all of that, and
the fact that we are holding this meeting today underlines the very
close cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom in
making sure that the international community does prevail in the
current dispute with Saddam Hussein.
The first point I want to stress is that this situation is grave. What
is at stake here is not a technical issue of diplomatic nicety. What
is at stake is the ambition of Saddam Hussein trying to develop
weapons of mass destruction, particularly at present a biological
weapon. We are determined that he will not be able to do so, and we
therefore are resolved that the United Nations' monitoring system must
be restored to Iraq so that they can make sure that he is obliged to
comply with the United Nations resolutions.
The second point I want to stress is that we do have unity in the
Security Council. The resolution that was passed forty-eight hours ago
had unanimous support. The President of the Council responded to the
latest step by Saddam Hussein with a tough statement on behalf of the
whole Council, and the President, of course, at the present time, is
China.
And the third point I would make is that we are resolved that we will
see this through. We are quite clear that Saddam Hussein has to comply
with those UN resolutions, and we are resolved that this is a dispute
which we have to win and which we are going to win. What will happen
now is that there will be a further round of intensive diplomacy aimed
at finding a solution. But that solution has to be on the basis of the
United Nations resolutions, not on the basis of the demands of Saddam
Hussein.
QUESTION: Why are you so patient with Saddam Hussein, continuing to
focus on diplomacy, and what are the other steps to increase pressure
on him that you discussed today?
SECRETARY COOK: I'm not quite sure where the sense of patience came
from. We have met here urgently precisely because we recognize both
the gravity of the situation and the importance of making it clear to
Saddam Hussein that he is not going to win this dispute on his terms.
So there's no patience or complacency here; on the contrary, there's a
very clear sense of urgency and the gravity of the situation.
Secondly, on the question of what further measures will be taken, all
options are open and no option has been closed down.
QUESTION: Both of you have, just in this meeting set the bar quite
high with unequivocal language that there are no options, he must
comply and so on. There seems to be something of a disconnect between
the absoluteness of the language and the tools available to achieve
the goals that you've stated. Are we missing something here?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: No, I think that there is no disconnect. I think
that basically, as the Foreign Secretary has said and as I have said,
we are involved in intensive diplomacy. Obviously that is always
preferable, but at the same time we have not ruled out any other
option. What I think has to be noted is the unity of the Security
Council. A few weeks ago there was the desire to divide the Council,
and Saddam Hussein tried to drive a wedge into the alliance and
instead he ran into a brick wall. So I think that the unity of the
Council which represents the international community is very strong,
and as I said it was important for him to get the message because
while our desire is to intensify diplomacy we have not ruled out other
options.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, is it fair to say that the price of
continuing unity on the Security Council is a broadened possibility of
oil for food, medicine and other goods? I mean, you did imply that you
were discussing a broadening of that program for Iraq.
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I know the British and the Americans have felt all
along, that we had great sympathy with the Iraqi people. What I have
always resented is the idea that the UN is blamed for the starvation
of the people, because it is Saddam Hussein who is responsible for
that. He seems to have plenty to entertain himself and his cronies,
while the people of Iraq are starving. And so, there have been
complaints about the slowness of the oil for food -- we want to look
into whatever can be done to make sure that the humanitarian suffering
is alleviated. It is not our desire to punish the Iraqi people.
SECRETARY COOK: It is perfectly true that whilst Saddam Hussein makes
propaganda out of the suffering of the his people, he himself has
found the money to build himself a whole new palace -- and our quarrel
is with Saddam Hussein: it is not with the people of Iraq. If he does
persist in defying the UN resolutions, there will be tightened
pressure. But by the same token, if he would start to comply with
those resolutions, if we saw progress towards implementation of those
resolutions, equally there's the prospect of an accommodation which
would allow some of those sanctions to be relaxed.
QUESTION: Could you tell us what steps would be next beyond the
already intensive diplomacy, and I'm wondering if there's any attempt
at this point to bring Russians into this more strongly?
SECRETARY COOK: We are in intensive discussions with all members of
the P-5, including Russia. Indeed, Britain has had particular dialogue
with France and it was a very important feature of our Anglo-French
Summit -- and both Russia and France are important in this issue. We
both maintain contact with them and we both seek to make sure that
they join us in a united front.
QUESTION: What makes you think that Saddam Hussein does respond to
diplomatic pressure? He doesn't seem to have done so in the past.
SECRETARY COOK: On the contrary, the United Nations inspection regime
has been extremely effective in dismantling a large part of his
nuclear program. They have been very effective in halting his attempts
to develop a chemical weapon. At the present time the head of UNSCOM
is concerned about the success of Saddam Hussein in getting a near
biological capability, but we shouldn't denigrate the success of the
inspection regime over the past few years. Indeed, as President
Clinton recently pointed out, the United Nations monitoring regime has
destroyed more weapons than were destroyed in the course of the Gulf
War. It is very important, therefore, that we make sure that it's able
to carry on doing its job. Let's not underrate what we've achieved so
far.
QUESTION: Did you discuss Lockerbie at all and the possibility of our
co-mutual venue for a trial?
SECRETARY COOK: No, we discussed Lockerbie and I explained to the
Secretary of State our invitation to the Arab League, the Organization
for African Unity and the United Nations to send a delegation to
Scotland -- which we hope to receive before the end of the year -- at
which we will demonstrate to them the reasons why we are confident
that those who have been indicted can obtain a fair trial in Scotland.
We are happy to discuss any reasonable questions people may wish to
raise about Scottish courts, and I'm perfectly confident that we can
adequately answer any questions on Scottish justice. We also wish to
discuss with them how they can send observers to a trial so we can
make sure that not only is justice done, it is seen to be done.
But I would end by stressing our united resolve that the two people
who have been indicted for this act of mass murder must stand trial.
In fairness to all those who were killed on that terrible night, we
owe it to them to make sure justice is done.
Thank you very much.
(End transcript)
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