Britain and the US have been forced into more concessions in their demands on Saddam Hussein in a desperate attempt to try to win over wavering countries on the UN security council.
Bowing to pressure from the swing states in the last days of frenzied lobbying, America and Britain agreed yesterday to set out the precise acts of disarmament Saddam would have to undertake by March 17 to avoid war, rather than demanding wholesale disarmament.
The move to detail the specific steps required of Saddam follows lobbying from Chile, one of the undecided states on the security council, for greater clarity. The precise requirements demanded of Saddam will be published, probably in parallel with the already-amended UN resolution proposed by Britain, the US and Spain setting the March 17 deadline.
In a further sign of flexibility, Downing Street also suggested that the vote on the amended resolution could be further postponed until later this week. Previously Washington had pressed for the resolution to be forced to a vote tomorrow, but the delay is designed to give the UK and the US badly-needed extra time to canvass support for its revised position.
Downing Street also refused to rule out setting back the March 17 deadline, but said at present there were no plans to revise the date.
The US and British governments both predicted they were within reach of a majority on the 15-member United Nations security council for a new resolution on war with Iraq. A source involved in the discussions said the last two or three votes were proving elusive.
The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, said yesterday: ”I think we have a strong chance … that we might get the nine or 10 votes needed for passage of the resolution.”
He added: ”I am encouraged by the discussions I have been having with a number of members of the council.”
Powell conceded that even if they attain such a majority, France could still torpedo the resolution by using its veto.
But winning a majority — even if the resolution fails to be passed — is crucial for Tony Blair, who could then claim to have a moral mandate for war.
A source close to the negotiations said: ”At the moment, there is chance of six or seven but we not sure about getting nine.”
In the new strategy, similar to proposals outlined last week by the weapons inspector Hans Blix, the UK and US will set out clearly what Saddam has to do by March 17. The demands will be based on the so called ”clusters document” published by Blix which outlines the key areas where Saddam had failed to account for his chemcial and biological weaponry.
The proposal will require him to undertake further acts of disarmament, commit himself unreservedly to disarmament and hand over detailed documentation on the whereabouts of unaccounted chemical and biological weaponry.
It is not clear if sceptics on the security council will see the strategy as a piece of political presentation or a real concession designed to prevent the world order represented by the UN splitting asunder. Details will be discussed with members of the security council today. The foreign secretary Jack Straw will also outline details to the Commons.
The prime mininister’s official representative insisted the government, far from backing off, was tightening the screw by defining more clearly what Saddam is required to do.
Blair spent much of the weekend on the phone, including calls to China and Russia. The new strategy was agreed in advance with Washington and may explain gathering British confidence that it can secure a second vote.
The US, Britain, Spain and Bulgaria are all committed to the resolution. Over the weekend, Washington and London expressed hope that they will be joined by Angola, Cameroon and Mexico but that Chile, Guinea and Pakistan were proving to be more difficult to win over.
A British minister said that, with or without a second resolution, the stand-off with Iraq ”will all be done and dusted within two or three weeks”. – Guardian Unlimited Â