Nations rap US on Iraq war

The United States and Britain picked up support for a tough position against Iraq among UN members yesterday, although a substantial majority in a two-day debate opposed an invasion of Iraq.

But even those who leaned toward Washington, insisted that the 15-member Security Council approve any military action in a resolution, whose adoption is anything but certain.

No resolution has been introduced yet while London and Washington haggle over language following a ground swell of public anti-war sentiment around the globe.

A draft is expected to emerge later this week or next but is not expected to be pushed to a vote until early March.

Typical was Canadian Ambassador Paul Heinbecker who told an open council meeting, "The people of Canada are fully prepared to accept the judgments of the inspectors and the decisions of this council."

The session was called by South Africa, head of the 115-member Non-Aligned Movement of mainly developing nations, to give some 60 countries not on the Security Council an opportunity to voice views on the Iraqi crisis.

On Tuesday, only four countries - Australia, Japan, Peru and Argentina of the 27 who spoke, supported in varying degrees tough military action against Iraq.

The other 23, including South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, India, Cuba as well as Middle Eastern countries from Iran to Algeria were openly jittery about a war and backed further inspections, as France had proposed.

But yesterday, Macedonia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Iceland, Serbia and Montenegro, Latvia, Nicaragua and South Korea, sharply criticised Iraq and said it had to comply or face tough action.

"Latvia regards the use of force as a last resort. But it is for the Iraqi regime to end this crisis," said Latvia's UN Ambassador, Gints Jegermanis.

Singapore, Georgia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Thailand, Mauritius, Uruguay and others were tough on Iraq but refrained from backing war outright.

But Islamic nations, including Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon, Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, as well as Switzerland, Nigeria, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and others in varying degrees denounced an invasion of Iraq.

"War with all its difficulties and danger seems sometimes the easier way," Egyptian Ambassador Amed Aboul Gheit said.

"But peace needs a concerted, continued effort and self-control, which is only befitting states that held the beacon of freedom and must maintain it - not by an iron fist but by wisdom and law," he said.

All Arab states publicly oppose a US-led war on Iraq but many are in a quandary because they are US allies. Iraq denies it has weapons of mass destruction.

Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia are in a particularly tough spot because they host American troops, and many of their citizens are opposed to this US presence.

"Whatever the core reason for war, the result of war will be disastrous at all levels - humanitarian, economic, political, legal and moral," said Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador, Fawzi bin Abdul Majeed Shobokshi.

Iraqi Ambassador, Mohammed Aldouri, placed at the council table next to the United States, dismissed accusations that Baghdad had failed to cooperate with arms inspectors and referred to last weekend's massive anti-war demonstrations across the globe as proof that the world opposed war.

But Aldouri warned the US and Britain that Baghdad would not react passively to a military attack.

"If the aggression against Iraq takes place, Iraq's sons, famous for their struggle against British occupation in the 1920s, will defend their country," Aldouri said.