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Is anybody surprised ?
Posted on Sun, Mar. 16, 2003
Report: Germany Aimed to Block U.S. on War
MELISSA EDDY
Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany - Germany set out to isolate the United States in the U.N. Security Council so Washington would be forced to "remorsefully return" to the body for help rebuilding Iraq after war, a report said Sunday.
Germany, a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, has been a staunch opponent along with veto-wielding France and Russia to a resolution that would allow the use of force to disarm Saddam Hussein.
In a report to the Foreign Ministry on Feb. 21, Germany's U.N. Ambassador Gunter Pleuger said that Washington, forced to move against Saddam Hussein alone, would later "remorsefully return to the Council" to seek help on enormous task of rebuilding Iraq, the Frankfurt Allgemeine newspaper said Sunday.
The newspaper said Pleuger's report backed unidentified countries' efforts to block the resolution. Pleuger said "it is better if the Security Council does not let itself be used by the USA," the newspaper reported.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin denied the report and a spokeswoman, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, underlined that for weeks Germany has been working with other Security Council members toward a compromise.
On Saturday, Germany, France and Russia issued a fresh declaration calling for the Security Council to set a timetable for Saddam to disarm and rejecting war.
The United States, backed by Britain and Spain, sought the resolution but a senior U.S. official has acknowledged it would be nearly impossible to round up the necessary votes to win passage. The leaders of the three countries and Portugal were meeting on the Azores Islands on Sunday to discuss the next step.
Recent reports have said Schroeder's government is quietly considering sending German soldiers to participate in a possible U.N.-led peacekeeping mission in Iraq that would follow any military action against Baghdad.
Government officials have declined to comment on an early release of a report in the Monday edition the Spiegel weekly indicating German would send up to 1,000 troops to support a postwar mission.
Schroeder indicated late Friday that Germany would be willing to participate in a peacekeeping operation sanctioned by the United Nations.
"Of course Germany has always been prepared to fulfill its international obligations, under the United Nations," Schroeder told ARD television late Friday.
Is anybody surprised ?
Posted on Sun, Mar. 16, 2003
Report: Germany Aimed to Block U.S. on War
MELISSA EDDY
Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany - Germany set out to isolate the United States in the U.N. Security Council so Washington would be forced to "remorsefully return" to the body for help rebuilding Iraq after war, a report said Sunday.
Germany, a nonpermanent member of the Security Council, has been a staunch opponent along with veto-wielding France and Russia to a resolution that would allow the use of force to disarm Saddam Hussein.
In a report to the Foreign Ministry on Feb. 21, Germany's U.N. Ambassador Gunter Pleuger said that Washington, forced to move against Saddam Hussein alone, would later "remorsefully return to the Council" to seek help on enormous task of rebuilding Iraq, the Frankfurt Allgemeine newspaper said Sunday.
The newspaper said Pleuger's report backed unidentified countries' efforts to block the resolution. Pleuger said "it is better if the Security Council does not let itself be used by the USA," the newspaper reported.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin denied the report and a spokeswoman, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, underlined that for weeks Germany has been working with other Security Council members toward a compromise.
On Saturday, Germany, France and Russia issued a fresh declaration calling for the Security Council to set a timetable for Saddam to disarm and rejecting war.
The United States, backed by Britain and Spain, sought the resolution but a senior U.S. official has acknowledged it would be nearly impossible to round up the necessary votes to win passage. The leaders of the three countries and Portugal were meeting on the Azores Islands on Sunday to discuss the next step.
Recent reports have said Schroeder's government is quietly considering sending German soldiers to participate in a possible U.N.-led peacekeeping mission in Iraq that would follow any military action against Baghdad.
Government officials have declined to comment on an early release of a report in the Monday edition the Spiegel weekly indicating German would send up to 1,000 troops to support a postwar mission.
Schroeder indicated late Friday that Germany would be willing to participate in a peacekeeping operation sanctioned by the United Nations.
"Of course Germany has always been prepared to fulfill its international obligations, under the United Nations," Schroeder told ARD television late Friday.
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