Stewart Stogel
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2002

"It has become a fight between the moderates at the U.S. mission and some hard-liners from Washington," confided one council ambassador. "That is the real issue, Washington and New York," added another council diplomat.

Abrams was sent by the White House to "assist" Negroponte in his negotiations explained Robert Wood, a U.S. mission spokesman. In reality, Abrams who has a close relationship with Vice-President Dick Cheney was sent to counter-balance Negroponte, a close associate, and an appointee, of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The result has been what some U.N. diplomats have called "disarray" in U.S. diplomatic negotiations. "These [Iraq] negotiations have gone on too long," lamented one European diplomat on the council.

He was referring to the fact that the U.S. and the other permanent members of the council (UK, France, Russia and China) have labored for more than five weeks without an agreement.

The U.S. and Britain want one resolution that would not only warn Baghdad about its past and current violations, but would give the U.S. essentially an automatic trigger to launch a military campaign if and when U.N. arms inspections are obstructed by Iraq.

The French and Russians insist on two resolutions: One would warn Baghdad. The second would authorize military action only after arms inspections are actually interfered with and investigated by the council.

Washington has flatly rejected the French idea.

On Tuesday, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov rejected the latest U.S. draft claiming: "It is little different from the original proposal."

In Paris, the French foreign ministry called the latest U.S. proposal "unacceptable."

Negroponte and Powell favor softening U.S. demands, while Abrams (backed by Cheney) favors more of a "take it, or leave it" attitude, say U.N. diplomats.

The result has essentially been a diplomatic stalemate.

A stalemate which prompted President George W. Bush to again warn on Tuesday night that the "U.N. must act now or be relegated to nothing more than a debating club."

Meanwhile, the 10 non-permanent Security Council members have waited on the sidelines while the "Perm 5" try and reach an agreement.

"I have never seen anything like this go on so long," sighed one veteran European diplomat on the council.

The non-perm 10 confirm that Washington had "officially" informed them to expect an agreement by the Perm 5 Tuesday night.

"It is not going to happen," said one British diplomat. Asked when the overdue agreement could be expected, the reply was: "I don't know."

Leaving the British U.N. mission on Tuesday night, Negroponte deflected reporters' questions on any progress towards an agreement.

All of this infighting left one Iraqi official amused: "Let them fight [the Security Council members]. We are in no rush."

The U.N. arms inspectors had originally intended to arrive in Baghdad on October 19. That was put on hold by a "request" from Washington.

Chief inspector Hans Blix, who had intended to coordinate the first Iraq mission from a U.N. base in Bahrain, instead finds himself in Moscow "consulting" with Russian officials on the latest developments in the Iraq crisis.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Saddam Hussein/Iraq

United Nations

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