Stewart Stogel
Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Commenting on the White House policy of preemptive strikes to combat terrorism, Annan told the forum:

"This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last fifty-eight years."

Annan did not mention the U.S. directly, but it was obvious about which nation he spoke. The U.N. chief continued:

"My concern is that if it (a policy of preemptive action) were to be adopted, it could set precedents that would result in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification."

Annan also took a turn to lash out at the French and German governments for hampering Security Council action on Iraq:

"It is not enough to denounce unilteralism, unless we also face up squarely to the concerns that make some states feel uniquely vulnerable and thus drive them to take unilateral action. We must show that these concerns can and will be addressed effectively through collective action."

For the 15-member Security Council, the Secretary-General had some advice:

"The Council needs to consider how it will deal with the possibility that individual states may use force "preemptively" against perceived threats."

The Annan lecture came as the world body struggles on how to react to two attacks on its operations center in Baghdad.

One in August and a second last weekend, have left 25 killed and more than 100 seriously wounded, the worst in the organization's history.

A tribute to the Baghdad victims was placed at the delegates' entrance to the cavernous General Assembly hall.

On Monday, Annan named an "independent" panel to review U.N. security operations overseas.

Meanwhile, during his visit to NYC, President George W. Bush will try to enlist Council support for a wider U.N. in role in iraq.

Though the original deadline of this week for a Security Council agreement has now been put off, U.S./U.N. ambassador John Negroponte told reporters that more Council members are "for a larger U.N. role (in Iraq) than against it."

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, both in NYC to attend the U.N. conference, have publicly stated that they do not intend block U.S. moves in the Council. They do however insist that Washington "modify" its blueprint for a larger U.N. role in Iraq.

The two leaders as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with President Bush this week. All are key members of the Security Council.

Present in the Iraqi U.N. seat during the Annan address was Ahmad Chalabi. Chalabi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council is also head of the Iraqi National Congress. He was there representing the Governing Council.

The INC chief, while a favorite of Seceetary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, has often run afoul of the State Dept. because of his hawkish views on Iraq's reconstruction.

In summing up his speech to the delegates, Annan told the assembly that he intends to initiate his own "review" of the rapidly changing international environment: "For my part, I intend to establish a High-Level Panel of eminent personalities, to which I will assign four tasks: