Editorials

[ OUR OPINION ]

Iraq weapons inspections
should proceed

THE ISSUE The U.S., Britain and Spain have proposed that the Security Council impose a deadline eight days from now for Iraq to disarm.

THE draft resolution put forward by the United States, Britain and Spain to set a March 17 deadline for Iraq to disarm or face a military attack might well produce the desired result if it were supported by the world community. However, the resolution is nearly certain to be rejected by the United Nations' Security Council because of progress reported by weapons inspectors. That rejection should not plunge the United States into war without the broad coalition of participating countries necessary for ultimate success.

President Bush seems intent on proceeding to war without Security Council approval of the resolution or, apart from the Council, a meaningful coalition of support. In a prime-time news conference, the president insisted that "we don't need anybody's permission" to go to war rather than "leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons." His contention that Iraq represents an imminent threat to America -- or, for that matter, any other country -- is not credible as long as weapons inspectors are on the job and report increased cooperation by Iraq.

Resolving outstanding issues of undocumented destruction of previously recorded weapons "will not take years, nor weeks, but months," inspector Hans Blix reported to the Security Council on Friday. If a resolution were to include a deadline conforming with Blix's assessment -- or suggest that such a deadline would be forthcoming -- France, Russia and China would have less reason to exercise their power as permanent members of the Security Council to veto such an ultimatum.

Blix said Iraq needs to supply more information about "quantities of biological and chemical weapons" that Iraq claims to have destroyed in 1991. "More papers on anthrax, VX and missiles have recently been provided," he said. "Many have been found to restate what Iraq already has declared, and some will require further study and discussion."

He reported "an acceleration of initiatives from the Iraqi side since the end of January" following "a period of somewhat reluctant cooperation." The destruction of Al-Samoud 2 missiles found to exceed ranges set by the Security Council "constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament, indeed the first since the middle of the 1990s," he said.

Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, has suggested that inspectors report their findings to the Security Council every three weeks. Such a timetable, spread over the months that Blix says he needs to complete his job, would promote further progress.

Any deadline, however far away, probably would delay Iraq's further cooperation until it neared. That may be a good argument for setting the deadline eight days from now, but the Security Council is not willing to impose such a demand while inspectors are reporting progress. America should keep its guns cocked while the inspections proceed.

BACK TO TOP

---

Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.

Don Kendall, Publisher

Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com

Mary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
Oahu Publications at 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
Periodicals postage paid at Honolulu, Hawaii. Postmaster: Send address changes to
Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802.