-Caveat Lector- http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/20/1040174393277.html
Print this article | Close this window As allies succumb to crisis fatigue, intervention looks inevitable December 21 2002 As US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the world that Iraq was in "material breach" of its Security Council obligation, a notice went out from his State Department convening a meeting of the "Future of Iraq, Oil and Energy Working Group". The meeting, hosted by the department this weekend, is to discuss restoration and modernisation of Iraq's oil fields "in the post-Saddam era". It was just one of several over the past two weeks debating everything from telephones to local government in Iraq, after Saddam. Against this backdrop in Washington, the activities of the UN weapons inspectors look increasingly surreal. The Bush administration is committed to removing Saddam and it is committed to war unless he is deposed. The only outstanding question is when. The current charade at the UN in New York is simply to garner enough support to convince enough of America's allies and the US public that America is not alone in declaring Iraq a threat to world peace and security. Perhaps the most curious part of this frenzied debate about Iraq's weapons declaration this week is that we heard it all before in 1999. Unanswered questions about chemical and biological stockpiles are the same ones Iraq failed to tackle then. The disputes about its missiles and the nerve agent VX are the same disputes the inspectors had in 1999. The one difference is that then, neither the UN Security Council nor the US public believed these disputes were serious enough to go to war over. The threat did not justify a war that could unleash the very weapons the UN is trying to contain. Despite all the leaks over the past four months claiming there was new intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs, including claims by Vice-President Dick Cheney that Iraq was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon, so far we know little more about Iraq's programs than we did in 1999. Equally, despite Iraq's promises that it would fully account for its former weapons programs, Saddam continues to baulk whenever he is asked to account for his old anthrax stocks and other biological warfare agents. The stand-off by both sides in this excruciating battle of wills has exhausted the other players. While both Europe and the Arab world look ahead to the coming war with deep misgivings, there is a sense of crisis fatigue. After the huge diplomatic efforts of the past four months, there is little enthusiasm for another round. America's strained Arab allies are convinced that even if this crisis passes, another will come within months. They are right. We are trapped in "the guns of August" scenario. Just as in 1914, every finger is on the trigger, every war plan is in place. The momentum seems unstoppable unless France and Russia have the energy or will to block the US. The cost of US Special Forces and CIA personnel in northern Iraq, the billions of dollars being burnt up patrolling the no-fly zones in both the north and south of the country, the cost of maintaining tens of thousands of forces in the region, is unsustainable. The Bush administration has made it clear it will bring the crisis to a head by January 27, the day UN inspectors are due to deliver their first substantive report on Iraq to the Security Council. By then, unless Saddam has walked away from power, Bush is unlikely to walk away from a war soon after. This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/20/ 1040174393277.html <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
