Britain, US Set to Force UN Vote over Iraq: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 21, 2003

Britain, US Set to Force UN Vote over Iraq: Report

The United States and Britain would table a new UN draft resolution next week authorizing military force against Iraq, The Independent newspaper reported on Friday.

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The United States and Britain would table a new UN draft resolution next week authorizing military force against Iraq, The Independent newspaper reported on Friday.

Both government intend to force a UN Security Council vote on the long-awaited second resolution before March 14, a date set by France for new talks on Iraqi compliance with its disarmament obligations, the paper said.

The paper quoted a senior Downing Street source as saying that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush had discussed the details of the "when and how" of a second resolution in a 30-minute telephone conversation on Wednesday night.

"France has come up with the March 14 date. That may be a bit too far away," the official said.

According to the report, the draft was expected to be tabled before Hans Blix, chief UN arms inspector, presents his latest report to the Security Council on Feb. 28, and current talks on how to win round the Security Council were confined to a few allies including Spain.

Two options for a resolution are thought to be under discussion, the report said. One version would give Iraqi President Saddam Hussein an explicit deadline by which he must disarm and another tactic would be for a motion authorizing action, which might not be explicitly, to be tabled but only voted on in early March.

If the 15-member council approves a new mandate concluding that Iraq is in "material breach" of demands to disarm, military strikes could be launched in the first week of March, the report said.

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