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Rumsfeld: Do not wait for an attackEstimated 20,000 outside conference protest Iraq war
MUNICH, Germany (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, pushing the case for U.S. military action against Iraq if it fails to disarm, warned Saturday that the world must "prevent an attack before it happens, not to wait." "Let me be clear, no one wants war," he said in a speech at an annual security conference in Munich, Germany. "War is never a first or an easy choice, but the risks of war have to be balanced against the risks of doing nothing, while Iraq pursues the tools of mass destruction." Up to 20,000 protesters demonstrated peacefully against war in Iraq outside while 3,500 police protected the conference attended by Rumsfeld and other prominent defense and security officials, The Associated Press reported. (More on the protests) "The stakes are high -- Iraq is now defying the 17th U.N. Security Council resolution," Rumsfeld said. "Seventeen times the United Nations has drawn a line in the sand, and 17 times Iraq has crossed it. "The resolution which passed unanimously did not say the next-to-final opportunity, it said the final opportunity. Those who voted for it knew what it said." But even as Rumsfeld tried to make the U.S. case that additional time for inspections would be fruitless, reports circulated among delegates at the Munich Conference on Security Policy that France and Germany might propose sending up to 2,000 U.N. peacekeeping troops to Iraq to assist inspectors searching for nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Asked about that proposal by reporters, Rumsfeld declined to comment, saying he did not know the details. However, he did say that he agreed with statements by President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell that "the inspectors are designed to deal with a cooperative country. It does not take long to know whether or not a country's cooperating." Rumsfeld criticizes NATO delays on TurkeyIn his speech, Rumsfeld also lashed out at some NATO members for stalling plans to deploy forces to protect Turkey -- the alliance's only Muslim member -- in the event that Turkey is threatened during military action against neighboring Iraq. "Turkey is an ally, Turkey is a member of the alliance; the North Atlantic Treaty provides for this kind of thing, and to prevent defensive capabilities -- just the planning, not even the deployment -- from going to that country, I think, is inexcusable," Rumsfeld said. Turkey has agreed to allow the United States to upgrade its bases and ports for possible use during any war with Iraq. Turkey's parliament is scheduled to vote February 18 on whether to allow U.S. troops to use the bases. Rumsfeld later told reporters that if NATO balks at sending Patriot missiles and materials to Turkey to protect against biological and chemical attacks, the United States would do so. However, he said NATO approval is required to send the alliance's AWACS radar planes to Turkey. In response to Rumsfeld's statement regarding military action against Iraq, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said though he agreed with much of what the defense secretary said, he was not convinced that the timing of an attack was correct. The conference, which is an informal exchange of opinions only, continues Sunday. Observers said Rumsfeld might have to work hard to repair relations with German officials after he made a comment that lumped Germany with Libya and Cuba "on the same plane." CNN Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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