Stewart Stogel
Wednesday September 17, 2003

On Tuesday, the U.S. decided to kill a move by the Palestinian Authority and Syria which would have denounced Israel's decision to expel (or possibly execute) PA President Yaasir Arafat.

U.S./U.N. ambassador John Negroponte confirmed that PA/U.N. observer Nasser al-Kidwa was warned the State Dept. considered the draft resolution one-sided and could not be allowed to pass.

Negroponte also added that 5 U.S. citizens were killed in recent Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel, the Council did not react, nor refused to condemn those attacks. “It (the resolution) was simply too one-sided for us,” he told reporters.

The U.S. delegate added that the State Dept. would not support any Israeli move to expel or threaten the security of Arafat.

Speaking to reporters from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday, Arafat shrugged off the veto proclaiming: "We are more important than any resolution."

Negroponte confirmed that President George W. Bush will address the U.N. on September 23 and Secretary of State Colin Powell will spend much of the week in New York City. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson will lead the U.S. delegation to an AIDS debate slated for the General Assembly, he added.

Iraq, will also be a major subject of the White House's attention while at the U.N.

A senior Bush administration official, speaking on background, says that he expects the new Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari to attend the U.N. assembly.

Zebari is a close associate of Ahmed Chalabi, the head of the Iraqi National Congress, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council and a favorite of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The Iraqi U.N. mission still retains many of the diplomats appointed by the old government, even though the former ambassador Mohammed Aldouri resigned his post shortly after the U.S./UK invasion.

"They (the Iraqi diplomats) are civil servants, they may stay as long they want," so explained Akila al-Hashemi, a former foreign ministry official and now a member of the Iraqi governing council.

What is not known is whether the credentials of the Iraqis may be challenged: "We just don't know," explained the U.S. official, "we haven't gotten any signals yet."

Some U.N. diplomats feel that some nations may look to strike back at the U.S. for its Arafat veto in the Security Council.

While Iraq still retains a seat in the General Assembly, it had its voting rights suspended more than a decade ago because if its refusal to pay dues.

Meanwhile, the administration source admitted that Washington's efforts to win support for a broader U.N. role in Iraq is making some progress, slowly.

He explained that in Geneva last weekend, U.N. chief Kofi Annan told the foreign ministers of the permanent 5 Security Council members that while the world body was prepared to carry out any role the Council defines, he warned them not to overreach.

After the bombing of its Baghdad headquarters on August 19, the U.N. has cut its staff at the facility by almost 2/3 he claimed.

When the U.S. first circulated its "thoughts” on the issue to the Security Council members almost two weeks ago, it was hoped that a resolution would be adopted before the Bush visit on September 23.

The official now says that deadline will not be met, though he expressed confidence a resolution will eventually be adopted, he could offer no time frame: “I think it is fair to say more (Council) members are for it, than against it. “

The U.S. official denies that the current drive for a redefined Iraq/UN role will end in a stalemate, the way it did when Washington asked for a resolution authorizing Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The issue of an enlarged multinational force for Iraq is also a proposal he feels will gain ultimate acceptance.

Another area where the U.S. may get involved in sending additional military forces is in the embattled West African nation of Liberia.

Liberia had been in the midst of a bloody civil war.

Some estimates put the death count at more than 300,000 during a decade of repeated conflict.

With a provisional government in place and new elections scheduled, the administration official says Washington will approve pending Council legislation which would support the new multinational peacekeeping force now on the ground (and headed by Nigeria) to be expanded to 15,000.

Less than 5,000 peacekeeping troops are currently deployed.

A small contingent of about 300 U.S. troops were in the country for logistical support and protection of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Monrovia.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

United Nations

Editor's note:
"Deck of Weasels" exposes the worst of those who oppose America, including kofi Annan and Jaques Chirac. Click Here to get your deck now!