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30 September 2002

U.S. Says Iraq Must Decide to Disarm

(State's Boucher says weapons inspectors need unlimited access) (2200)
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on September 30 that
Iraq must decide to "open up and to disarm." Boucher also said the U.S.
continues to consult with U.N. Security Council partners on the text of
a draft resolution on weapons inspections in Iraq. He was speaking at
the regular State Department noon briefing.
Boucher said chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, now meeting in
Vienna with Iraqi officials, has made clear his expectations of
unlimited access, and that the U.S. supports these expectations.
"Everybody is now using terms like 'unrestricted,' 'unfettered,'
'without restriction.' We've heard those words from the Secretary
General; we've heard them from Dr. Hans Blix, who was talking to the
Iraqis today in Vienna. And we support the positions he's taken,
because we all recognize at this point that Iraq has had four years to
try to hide things, four years to try to carry out their plans of
deceit and deception as they tried to before, even under the pressure
of inspections, " Boucher said.
"The (Security) Council needs to set forth in clear terms what Iraq
has to do to demonstrate its desire to disarm," Boucher said. "We need
to make sure that this is not a continuing pattern of deceit."
Following are Boucher's remarks on Iraq from the September 30 State
Department noon briefing:
(begin excerpt)
MR. BOUCHER: Anyway, back to having identified the whereabouts of Marc
Grossman, let me tell you what we've been up to. We are continuing to
consult with our Security Council partners on the text of a draft
resolution, both in New York, and in Security Council capitals. As you
know, Under Secretary Grossman traveled to Paris and Moscow over the
weekend to continue our consultations on a new resolution. These
discussions were constructive, they were helpful, Under Secretary
Grossman briefed the Secretary fully, this morning.
The Secretary, himself, has been conducting part of our diplomacy on
these issues over the course -- well, on Sunday on both the issues of
Iraq and the question of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation at the
Muqatta he talked to foreign secretary Straw, Secretary General Annan,
Foreign Minister Maher of Egypt, Foreign Minister Ivanov of Russia,
Foreign Minister Saud al Faysal of Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister
Muasher of Jordan, European High Representative Solana, Danish Foreign
Minister Moeller, and today, on Monday, he's already talked to French
Foreign Minister Villepin and Foreign Secretary Straw. So both from
the discussions that Under Secretary Grossman had and from his own
conversations, I would say the Secretary is encouraged by the way
things are going at this point. We continue to work on a resolution
for the UN Security Council to pass.
QUESTION: When he testified before the Senate Thursday, he implied the
obvious that there's disagreement, he said, "others have views." He
used the word views. There are other views out there. Are the views of
others as, have they eased back? You did say progress, but are there
still strong views contrary to the US approach -- The US/British
approach?
MR. BOUCHER: We have entered into this as a consultation with other
governments on a resolution. They are talking to us about the
resolution and the elements of it and how it would work. And we're
talking to them. We're hearing from them, we're talking to them. As
you know, we have everybody has seen the views of various parties that
talked about one resolution or two resolutions. We've thought this one
through, and have come down on the side of one resolution. We firmly
believe that's the best way to go for a variety of --
QUESTION:  We?
MR. BOUCHER: We, the United States. So we're putting that case to the
other governments and discussing it with them, but we're also hearing
from them on their views and we will continue to pursue these issues
with them.
QUESTION: I know you're reluctant to get into the, even though
everybody by now has pretty much reported what the resolution, the
US/Anglo resolution would say. Can you tell us in his conversation
with Kofi Annan, though, whether there was discussion of whether the
palaces would be open to inspection? And you know why I ask, because
Annan, in a memorandum of understanding had given Saddam Hussein some
confidence that he could keep those --
MR. BOUCHER:  I don't know.  Well, years ago.  Right?
QUESTION: Well, but the delicate way to put it is, I understand the
resolution would supersede that understanding.
MR. BOUCHER: Those understandings date back some years -- well before
1998 when the inspectors were thwarted by Iraq and unable to do their
job. I think the news, if that's the business that you're in is that
everybody is now using terms like unrestricted, unfettered, without
restriction. We've heard those words form the Secretary General, we've
heard them from Dr. Hans Blix who is talking to the Iraqis today in
Vienna, and we support the positions he's taken because we all
recognize at this point that Iraq has had four years to try to hide
things, four years to try to carry out their plans of deceit and
deception as they tried to before, even under the pressure of
inspections. And the only way that this is going to succeed is, first
and foremost, if Iraq makes the decision to open up and to disarm.
If Iraq doesn't make the decision to open up and disarm, we're always
going to have cheat and retreat. We're always going to have
inspections that are more like pulling teeth. But if Iraq makes the
decision to disarm, then the inspectors, by going everywhere, could
verify that and Iraq would want them to, if that's truly a decision
they've made, so the point, I think, is first of all, the Council
needs to set forth in clear terms what Iraq has to do to demonstrate
its desire to disarm. And that is what we have put in this resolution.
If Iraq is truly interested in doing that, these tools and mechanisms
that we're putting in the resolution could be used to demonstrate that
it was doing that. But we need to be able to go anywhere, we need to
make sure this is not a continuing pattern of deceit. I would have to
say that given what Iraq has been saying over the weekend, at some
points they talk about unfettered access, at other points they are
rejecting in advance a resolution that would do that. So I think it's
quite clear that Iraqi officials still don't understand. They just
don't get it in terms of what they have to do and what this is all
about. This is about Iraq's disarmament inconsistent with UN
resolutions, and if Iraq wants to demonstrate that, this is a way of
their doing that.
QUESTION: What is the usefulness of Blix having these talks with the
Iraqis given two things that you've said. One is that you want the
Security Council to lay out again what Iraq needs to do and he seems
to be talking about and two is, what is there to talk about if you
expect this unfettered access from the Iraqis? I mean. You know?
MR. BOUCHER: There, I'm sure there are all kinds of technical aspects
to arrangements; cars, license plates, landing sites, airplanes,
storage facilities, whatever else they may need. And he needs to lay
out those kind of arrangements of what he needs. And he, himself, has
said, I think, if he gets further instructions from the council he may
have further arrangements to specify. And I think that's the context
for these discussions. He's had regular and routine contacts in the
past along these lines. They are normal in the context of inspections.
But that doesn't take from the council its responsibility to give the
inspectors the authority and instructions to do a thorough job.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on just one thing? Would you say, isn't it a
little confusing that you have one guy negotiating with the Iraqis,
terms for inspections under previous UN resolutions and you, yourself
are work -- meeting and you're working with the Security Council to
come up with a new one. I mean, you know, because suddenly the
goalposts may change, right?
MR. BOUCHER: I would say two or three things. One, it's not
necessarily, because some of these questions, technical questions
apply whatever the full scope and targets of the inspection.
Second of all, Dr. Blix, himself has made clear his expectations of
unlimited access and we strongly support his doing that. To be able to
do the job that he has to do, which is to verify Iraqi disarmament,
the Iraqis have to make the decision, and then he needs to be able to
go anywhere to do that. So in addition to the questions of the Council
taking back its authority and giving the inspectors the authority and
the instructions. The inspectors are also out there and they need,
they understand, he understands, as he has said, that they need
unlimited access in order to do the basic job that they are being
assigned by the previous resolutions, and, we hope, by the new one.
Matt.
QUESTION: Richard, with all due respect to what the Department
considers the news of the day to be -- that everyone is talking about
"unfettered" and "unrestricted" access -- other people might think
that the news is still that the French are saying that they're not
going to go for one resolution, and that they're wanting two. And you
seemed to have come out and said that -- you know, you've firmly come
down on the side of one. Does that mean that the previous statements
from the Secretary, yourself, others, that two was still a possibility
and we're willing to work -- is that now off the table? You're only
going to go for one?
MR. BOUCHER: No, it's not off the table. We're going to hear from
people about two. We know that. I'm not claiming to speak for others,
or to claim that others have changed their positions at this point.
But we are discussing a resolution. In that context, some people say
that parts of it should be in a second resolution. But we have, we
think, worked this one through fairly carefully and come down that we
strongly favor having one resolution. And we were making that case to
them.
QUESTION: Have diplomats from the US and Britain started contingency
work on a second resolution?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know of -- I don't know that I would talk about
any contingency work if there were some. But I'm not, don't have
anything on that.
QUESTION: And just one last one. Did the French tell Under Secretary
Grossman over the weekend that they would veto a one-resolution
solution?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not going to brief on behalf of other governments.
I'm not going to get into what the French may or may not have said in
particular meetings. We are discussing these issues with them, and I
think that's important. We continue to work this. We continue to work
it both in capitals and in New York. And at this point, we're -- you
know, the Secretary has gotten a full brief, he's made a lot of calls
himself, and we're encouraged by the way things are going. They're not
wrapped up yet, but we continue to work this in a positive manner.
QUESTION: May I, just to follow up on that, you are essentially
negotiating with the other people in the Security Council. Have you
made any changes to the draft resolution which you agreed last week so
far? And are you prepared to at some -- somewhere or other?
MR. BOUCHER: Since I haven't laid out what's in the resolution, I'm
not prepared to lay out whether anything in the resolution is changing
or not.
We'll continue to work this. We expect to hear from others. And we'll
continue to work on a text that we think can garner significant
support in the Council.
QUESTION: How much time does the UN actually have before it's
categorically established whether the Iraqis have allowed "unfettered
access" or not? And in the scenario where the Iraqis have said, okay,
unfettered access, is the military option still on -- would the
military option still be on the table then?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not in a position to lay out specific deadlines. But
I think we've made quite clear that the United States believes that
there need to be deadlines in the resolution.
Iraq can demonstrate a desire for disarmament any day and every day,
before the inspectors get there and while the inspectors are there.
The question comes up every day, in terms of their cooperation, in
terms of their disclosures, in terms of their willingness to
cooperate. So it's not -- it's not that we all sit back and relax and
forget about it for six months until an inspector comes back and gives
us a report. We will be following all these developments closely. And
it's important for Iraq -- if they truly have a desire to disarm and
to demonstrate that -- that Iraq cooperate with the inspectors and the
UN Security Council requirements all the way.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)