14 November 1997
CLINTON: WILL OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ON IRAQ MUST PREVAIL
(Diplomatic efforts continue to get Iraqi compliance) (750) By Wendy S. Ross USIA White House Correspondent Washington -- President Clinton says the United States is working "intensively" with its allies and friends in the Middle East and around the world, using diplomatic means "to convince Iraq to comply with the will of the international community," as expressed in United Nations Security Council resolutions. Clinton briefed reporters at the White House November 14. The current crisis, he said, is caused by Saddam Hussein and "It can be unmade only when he can no longer threaten the international community with weapons of mass destruction." Saddam has spent the better part of the last two decades, Clinton said, on a program to build an arsenal of the most terrible weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical, biological -- and the weapons to carry them to faraway places, he said. "The U.N. inspectors have done a remarkable job of finding and destroying the weapons and the weapons potential he was hiding, and preventing him from building new weapons," he said. Their work "must be allowed to continue." United States U-2 surveillance missions over Iraq must continue, Clinton said. "Without inspectors on the ground, it is more important than ever to monitor events from the air. And we will maintain a strong military presence in the Gulf," the President noted. He said he has ordered the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington to the region "as a prudent measure to help assure that we have the forces we need for any contingency." Iraq expelled six Americans on a U.N. weapons inspection team November 13, leading the world organization to instruct the entire team to leave the country. Late that same evening the U.N. Security Council issued a strongly worded resolution condemning the Iraqi action. The U.N. decision to withdraw the team of inspectors, rather than split the team by nationality, was the right decision, Clinton said earlier, during a question and answer session in the Oval Office as he began a working meeting with Mexico's President Ernesto Zedillo. "We have to steel ourselves and be determined that the will of the international community, expressed in the United Nations Security Council resolutions, will have to prevail," he said. It's too dangerous an issue that would set the too powerful precedent about the impotence of the United Nations, if we didn't proceed on this." Clinton said Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program is "one of the three or four most significant security threats" that the world faces, and "we've got to stop it." He said Secretary of State Albright, who is on a trip to the Middle East and South Asia, will be "meeting with a lot of the foreign ministers over the next several days. And I will be talking to a number of the heads of state." There is a clear understanding in the international community, that Saddam Hussein's actions pose a threat to the region and to the world, National Security Adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger told reporters. "We are consulting with our allies on how we intensify the pressure on Saddam Hussein and what should take place if he doesn't reverse himself," Berger said. "The only way out for him is to come into compliance," with all relevant Security Council resolutions. "Our first preference" Berger said, "is to resolve this by diplomacy and peaceful means and that's what we're engaged in over the next several days." Later in the afternoon of November 14, before leaving for a weekend trip to the western United States, Clinton met for 40 minutes in the Oval Office with Jordan's King Hussein, who is in Washington on a private visit. The two had met socially the evening before at a private party in Washington to celebrate the King's birthday, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said. The Press Secretary said Clinton "warmly welcomes the Security Council statement last night that condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable decision by the government of Iraq. The President certainly agrees that Iraq should immediately and unequivocally revoke the decisions it has taken in recent days. The President remains fully determined to see that the will of the international community is enforced." Asked what the administration wants from the international community, McCurry said: Clinton wants them "to remain seized of the matter and to continue to bring proper pressure to bear on Saddam Hussein to achieve the compliance we expect."
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