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http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,7489_A_811443_1_A,00.html

Deutsche Welle (Germany)
March 18, 2003

Schröder Rejects War That Will Kill 'Thousands' in
Iraq    
 
   
Germany's chancellor says in a reaction to the United
States' ultimatum that the United Nations should be
able to continue its inspection program.

In a national address, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
said on Tuesday morning that he steadfastly opposed
President George W. Bush's just announced ultimatum to
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the war that the
demand could trigger.

"My question was and remains: Does the size of the
threat posed by the Iraqi dictator justify a decision
to wage a war that will surely lead to the deaths of
thousands of innocent children, women and men? My
answer to this question was and remains: No," the
chancellor said.

Schröder made his television address eight hours after
U.S. President George W. Bush (photo) gave Saddam 48
hours to leave his country and told Americans that a
military confrontation would ultimately make them
safer. "The security of the world requires disarming
Saddam Hussein now," Bush said.

Division between Americans and Germans

The issue of war against Iraq has driven a wedge
between the United States and Germany, two allies
whose relationship was tightly bound together during
four decades of Cold War and the reunification of West
Germany and East Germany that followed in 1990.
Schröder began criticizing Bush's plans for a war
during the summer as he campaigned for re-election. As
part of his campaign platform, Schröder said German
troops would not participate in such a war. He
intensified that opposition in January, when he
announced that Germany would vote against any U.N.
Security Council resolution authorizing a war against
Iraq.

During the address on Tuesday, Schröder reiterated one
position he took during much of the debate. "Iraq is a
country that is being extensively inspected by the
United Nations," he said. "The disarmament steps that
the Security Council has demanded are being
increasingly implemented. Therefore, there is no
reason to break off this process of disarmament."

Schröder delivered the roughly five-minute address
while sitting at a desk with his hands folded in front
of him. At his back was a large office window framed
by the German and European flags to his right and a
plant to his left. Outside on this hazy morning,
traffic rolled along a road located not far from the
home of the German parliament, the Reichstag.

The chancellor concluded the address by pledging to
work for peace and security. "You can be assured that
my government will steadfastly use every chance, no
matter how small, to achieve world peace. You can also
be assured that we will take every possible measure to
ensure security in out country," he said.

Chirac protests Bush's decision

Schröder was joined in his opposition to Bush's latest
plans by Jacques Chirac, the French president who had
threatened to veto the American drive for war in the
U.N. Security Council. "This one-sided decision
contradicts the will of the Security Council and the
international community," Chirac said in a statement
released on Tuesday.

In contrast, Bush gained the support of other
countries after the speech. Poland, a NATO ally, will
deploy 200 elite troops to the region, and Australia
said it would commit the 2,000 soldiers it has already
sent to the Persian Gulf region. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Bush's biggest ally, British
Prime Minister Tony Blair, will ask the House of
Commons to sanction participation in the war.

The prime minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, also
endorsed Bush's plans. "U.S. President Bush has
conducted a major undertaking in his search for
international support," Koizumi said. "And in this
sense, I think he has made an inevitable decision."
 
 


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