• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

02 February 1998

RICHARDSON SAYS THE TIME FOR DIPLOMACY HAS "ALL BUT RUN OUT"

By Wendy Lubetkin
USIA European Correspondent
Davos -- Ambassador Bill Richardson, U.S. Permanent Representative to
the United Nations, said February 1 that two nations in addition to
the United Kingdom have indicated to him that they will support the
United States should it decide to use force against Iraq.
Richardson, who was attending the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, said he was conferring with heads of state and government
there to convey "a simple urgent message that the situation in Iraq is
extremely grave" and that the international community's response must
be strong.
"The United States believes that the time for diplomacy has all but
run out, and that Iraq cannot violate the will of the international
community with impunity," he said.
President Clinton dispatched Richardson and Secretary of State
Albright to consult with U.S. allies on the situation in Iraq.
Albright is currently in the Middle East where she is holding meetings
with officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and
Saudi Arabia. From Switzerland, Richardson said he will travel to
Portugal, Kenya, Gabon, the Gambia, Brazil and Costa Rica.
Richardson said his discussions in Davos produced "a surprisingly
better response" than he had expected. "In fact, two countries have
committed to publicly support the United States, should there be a
decision of force."
Richardson declined to specify which two countries had pledged their
support, but in answer to a journalist's question he said the two
countries were nations he had spoken with in Davos and that they were
in addition to the United Kingdom.
"There will be others," he added. "The United States will not be alone
in this effort. We are actively working to build support for our
policy. Our policy is to get Iraq to fully comply and to give
unconditional access to these sites, to let UNSCOM destroy these
weapons of mass destruction."
Asked whether his statement that the U.S. "would not be alone" meant
that other nations would be involved in any military action or simply
that other nations would stand behind the United States, Richardson
replied, "We would hope for both."
Richardson said he used his Davos visit to discuss the situation in
Iraq with the presidents of Mexico and Argentina, the prime ministers
of Pakistan and Slovenia, the foreign minister of Chile, and also
"several foreign ministers and finance ministers from countries in
Asia, Africa and Latin America."
He said the United States would not seek an additional U.N. Security
Council resolution to authorize military action. "We feel we have
sufficient legal authority to take military action. We want diplomacy
to resolve this crisis, but diplomacy is running out of gas," he said.
Richardson said the United States "has no quarrel" with the people of
Iraq and will support the expansion of the oil for food program that
was to be proposed by the U.N. secretary general February 2. "The
Iraqi people are suffering because of their own government's inability
and unwillingness to give them food and medicine," he said. "We
started the oil for food program. We want to see it improved."