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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

06 November 2002

Grossman: Strong U.N. Resolution May Help Avoid Conflict with Iraq

(Says U.S. committed to strengthening ties with Tunisia) (2180)
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman says the
United States is pressing for a strong resolution from the U.N.
Security Council on disarming Iraq in hopes of avoiding a military
conflict.
"[T]he purpose of that resolution is to avoid a conflict. Our argument
to our friends and allies around the world is that, if we are smart
and if we pass the right kind of Security Council resolution, we can
have a strengthened Security Council, Iraq meeting its obligations,
and no conflict," Grossman told reporters in Tunis November 5 after
talks with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia.
Grossman declined to comment on Israel's domestic political situation
but said the Bush administration is committed to pursuing peace
settlement between Israelis and Palestinians based on President Bush's
speech of June 24, the Saudi plan which was endorsed at the Beirut
Arab summit, and U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Regarding U.S. ties with Tunisia, Grossman said the United States is
committed to strengthening the relationship, which dates back nearly
200 years.
"My job in Tunis has been to express our appreciation to our Tunisian
allies, to remind people how important Tunisia is to the United
States," Grossman said. "Tunisia is a model of social and economic
development and a steady voice on regional and international issues."
Grossman praised the recent signing of the Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the United States and Tunisia and
said the next step is the implementation of the agreement. He added
that U.S. businessmen would be more eager to invest in Tunisia if the
North African countries -- Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco -- could
create an integrated market.
Regarding U.S. ties with Europe, Grossman said relations are
fundamentally good, despite tactical disagreements.
Following is the transcript of Grossman's press conference in Tunisia:
(begin transcript)
Marc Grossman, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Tunis, Tunisia   November 5, 2002
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Let me thank you all very much for taking
time out of your day to visit with me today. This building has great
historical connections and we are sad to be leaving it; but we are
very proud to be moving into a new embassy. The Ambassador was nice
enough to take us on a tour of that facility this morning. I know you
will all have a chance to see it. We believe that the creation of this
new embassy in Tunis shows our commitment to Tunisia.
My job in Tunis has been to express our appreciation to our Tunisian
allies, to remind people how important Tunisia is to the United States
and to consult today with the Foreign Minister on a whole range of
issues that are important to Tunisia and to the United States. There
is obviously a lot to talk about as these relations go back almost 200
years. Tunisia is a model of social and economic development and a
steady voice on regional and international issues. I also took the
opportunity to thank the Foreign Minister again for all of the help
that Tunisia has been in the global war on terrorism. We also had a
chance to talk about the now important, but we hope to be growing,
economic cooperation between Tunisia and the United States. The United
States/North Africa Partnership remains a key part of our policy in
this region. And we are very pleased with the recent signing of the
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the United
States and Tunisia. I think that, given the short amount of time, I
will stop there and answer any questions that you may have.
QUESTION: Have you discussed with the Tunisian officials the case of
Iraq and what is your view of the Saudi position refusing to join any
coalition? And of course what is your opinion about the Arab public
opinion that is against the war? And does this mean anything to you?
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Let me answer all of those questions because
they are all very good questions. First, yes, absolutely, we spoke
about Iraq this morning with the Foreign Minister. I took the
opportunity to report to the Foreign Minister on where things stand on
our effort to get a UN Security Council resolution passed on Iraq. We
hope to get this resolution passed soon. I reported to the Foreign
Minister that the purpose of that resolution is to avoid a conflict.
Our argument to our friends and allies around the world is that, if we
are smart and if we pass the right kind of Security Council
resolution, we can have a strengthened Security Council, Iraq meeting
its obligations, and no conflict. It s very important to remember that
President Bush s statement to the UN General Assembly on September 12
was not a declaration of war. It was a declaration of purpose to
strengthen the Security Council, disarm Iraq, and do so in a way that
is effective. And that is our objective today. We believe that a
strong Security Council resolution will allow inspectors back into
Iraq under new circumstances and Iraq will be forced to meet its
obligations, not to the United States, but to the Security Council.
And so to the other two parts of your questions, I think that the
statements coming out of Saudi Arabia are answered by me by saying
that we do not wish a conflict and that our President has not made a
decision about a military operation. And all of those who wish to
avoid a conflict should support a strong resolution at the Security
Council. Arab public opinion matters a great deal to us. That is why
we want the Security Council to be strengthened. That is why we want
Iraq to be disarmed of its weapons of mass destruction. And that is
why we are working so hard to pass a strong resolution so that we can
disarm Iraq.
QUESTION: Will the resignation of the Israeli cabinet affect the
effort by the United States for a peaceful settlement in the Middle
East?
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Obviously, the domestic policies of Israel
are Israel s business. And I would have no comment on their domestic
politics. What I can assure you, however, is that all of us the
President, the Secretary of State, all of us who are involved -
continue to pursue the plan for peace that was outlined in the speech
by President Bush on June 24 of this year. And we believe that a plan
for peace that is based on the Saudi plan and the Beirut Arab Summit,
the President s speech on June 24, and UN Security Council Resolutions
is a way forward. And we intend to pursue it.
QUESTION: We all know that today is a crucial day for the White House?
What will change tonight in the White House after today s elections?
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: The American people will go today to the
polls. And, as I tried to answer the gentleman s question about
Israeli domestic politics, don't think that as a representative of our
country, standing in a foreign country, that I have any comment on our
domestic politics either.
QUESTION: As you mentioned earlier, the TIFA agreement has been
signed. What is the next step in regards to the countries in the
region and in regards to Tunisia?
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: The next step is to implement the TIFA
agreement. After that, the next step will be to increase the amount of
American investment in Tunisia. And I pay tribute to the Ambassador
for making this one of the highest priorities on his agenda. There are
some questions that are involved in why American companies don't
invest more in Tunisia. And I think the good news is that it is not
about Tunisia. It is a question of a regional market, and most
American businesses who want to invest a large amount of money in
Tunisia would like to also be part of a regional Maghreb economic
development. And so one of the things that the Foreign Minister and I
discussed this morning was the need for Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia
to work together to create that kind of regional market. And that, of
course, is their responsibility. And if we could get more American
investment here, more of a regional market, I think that there could
be more things that we could do in the economic field between Tunisia
and the United States. But don't undersell the TIFA agreement. It's an
extremely important first step.
QUESTION: You just said that Americans seem to be sometimes not very
interested by Tunisia because it is a small country. But waiting for
the war to happen between the United States and Iraq, Tunisia will
suffer a lot economically. Do you really do something for the small
countries like our country, which will lose a lot in tourism, for
instance, and in investments? My second question is the relationship
between the United States and Europe. Are you afraid that your
strategic partner, which is Europe, -- that you are little by little
losing this partner because we see now that in Germany and France,
many public opinion is not very happy about what is happening now.
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Well let me clarify the first part of your
question. I did not say that people were not interested in Tunisia. I
said that they would be more interested in the region as a whole. In
fact you can see Tunisia as the base for investment in the region.
Second, on the question on Iraq, I would answer your question the way
that I answered your colleague s question. Your analysis is based on
the assumption that there is going to be a conflict. My analysis is
based on the assumption that we will get a strong Security Council
resolution and there will not need to be a conflict. And I would say
that anyone who is concerned about conflict should get a message out
to those members of the Security Council that so far do not seem to
want to vote for a strong resolution. Tell them to vote for a strong
resolution.
Finally, on Europe, the relationship between the United States and
Europe fundamentally is excellent. We sometimes get ourselves caught
up in these tactical disagreements and we forget the fundamentals. And
I don t mean to give you homework to do, but I will make a suggestion
to you. If you look on the website of the Chicago Council of Foreign
Relations, there is a very interesting and brand new poll that they
did on European and American public opinion. It shows that, among our
populations, there's a remarkable consistency of view. It doesn't say
that there are no disagreements, but I think that you will find it
interesting. It is absolutely relevant to your question.
QUESTION: I have a simple question on Iraq. Now it seems that the
purpose of the United States is to get a resolution that relates more
to disarming Iraq. Now does that mean that you have shelved the
project of overthrowing Saddam Hussein?
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: This administration, like the last
administration and our Congress, has been in favor of changing the
regime in Iraq. The Iraqi people would be better off if Saddam Hussein
was not their boss. That remains our policy. I think, as you have
noted, the Security Council resolution focuses on the obligations that
Iraq has to the Security Council. And that is proper. It is a Security
Council issue. What I would say to you, sir, is that, if you look
forward a few months and Iraq is being disarmed, it would be a very
different Iraq. And I think that the President made this point
extremely well in his speech to the American people in Cincinnati on
October 7.
QUESTION: There is a course a difference of opinion between the United
States and France. Now why does America intend to keep holding to the
idea that, "if you are not with me, you are my enemy?"
UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: First of all, French policy will have to be
explained by the representatives of France. I would say to you that
the President's speech to the General Assembly on September 12 makes,
with all due respect, the premise of your question incorrect. The
President went in front of the General Assembly and said that this is
not about Iraq and America, it is about Iraq and the Security Council.
We have been working for eight weeks with other members of the
Security Council to get a resolution that everyone can agree with. We
have listened to the point of view of every other member of the
Security Council, including the non-permanent members of the Security
Council. If we had pursued the policy that is assumed by your
question, we would have on September 13 thrown down a resolution and
said, "Vote for this." And that's not what we did. We have pursued a
diplomatic strategy to try to get a Security Council resolution that
everyone can live with.
Thank you all very much. I appreciate it. Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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