France, Russia: Force Not Needed Yet Against Iraq

[thedrifter]

France, Russia: Force Not Needed Yet Against Iraq
VOA News
07 Feb 2003, 17:57 UTC

French President Jacques Chirac has warned the United States against going to war against Iraq without a second U.N. Security Council resolution, and Russia says it would oppose such a resolution. Both countries are permanent members of the council and can veto any resolution.

Mr. Chirac spoke by telephone with President Bush Friday, and told the U.S. leader he still believes Iraqi President Saddam Hussein can be disarmed without a war.

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said President Bush was wrong to say "the game is over" with Iraq and the Security Council should enforce its earlier disarmament resolutions. Mr. Raffarin said, "it's not a game, and it's not over."

Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would oppose any new United Nations resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. Igor Ivanov says the Kremlin does not see any need for such a resolution at this time. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Britain would consider taking part in a U.S. led attack on Iraq even if France, Russia or China veto a Security Council resolution.

At the Vatican, Pope John Paul II and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer made a joint appeal for a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. Germany, which is the current chairman of the U.N. Security Council but does not have a veto, has consistently opposed using military force to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.



Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

Sempers,

Roger

[catman]

So we can just add them to the list. Let's get this all sorted out guys, with what we can gain here from a grunts point of view.

1st) Iraq - Lots of oil and maybe a few pretty women under all those veils.

2nd) North Korea - Decent food and not much else except to shut them up once and for all.

3rd) Russia - Lots of oil, land and pretty ladies.

4th) France - Not much, just a bunch of hairy ladies that smoke, screw it, nuke them so we won't have to bail them out ever again.

Trav