S P E C I A L:

The Standoff with Iraq

U.S. moves more firepower into Persian Gulf

USS Independence

China, France, Russia oppose force

February 5, 1998
Web posted at: 11:19 p.m. EST (0419 GMT)

(CNN) -- Even as France, Russia and China continue to oppose a military strike against Iraq, the United States moved more military firepower into the Persian Gulf.

The USS Independence, an aircraft carrier with 5,000 sailors and about 50 combat aircraft on board, entered the Gulf Thursday. It is the first time since the Persian Gulf War that the United States has three aircraft carriers in the region.

Also, a Marine expeditionary unit, with four ships and 2,000 troops capable of making amphibious landings, is being dispatched from the Mediterranean, according to Clinton administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It is expected to arrive in the Gulf in about 10 days.

At the White House Thursday, President Clinton met face-to-face with his staunchest ally in the Iraq crisis, British Prime Minster Tony Blair, who is on his first official visit to the United States.

Both Clinton and Blair emphasized that they would prefer a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iraq over allowing United Nations weapons inspectors unfettered access to locations in Iraq where weapons of mass destruction may be located. But both also made it clear that a military strike may be necessary.

"I think all of our experience with (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein teaches us that diplomacy has very little chance of working unless it is clear to him that if diplomacy does not work, that the threatened reality of force is there," Blair said.

Clinton says U.S. won't try to oust Hussein

Clinton downplayed the possibility the United States would deliberately try to kill or remove Hussein from power in the event of a military strike, as some Republican leaders in Congress have recently urged.

"Our interest is in preventing Saddam Hussein from building biological, chemical (or) nuclear weapons capability with missiles to deliver such weapons," Clinton said. "As a practical matter, we can pursue that interest with available options."

"Would the Iraqi people be better off with a change in leadership? I certainly think they would be," he said. "But that is not what the United Nations has authorized us to do." 723K/33 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

French President Jacques Chirac, left, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin are both opposed to the use of force against Iraq

France, Russia, China reiterate opposition

On Thursday, China, France and Russia all reaffirmed their opposition to a military strike on Iraq. Those countries, along with the United States and Britain, are the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

French special envoy Bertrand Dufourcq left Baghdad for Paris, carrying what were described as "concrete proposals" for a peaceful settlement.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said his country "will not participate" in any military attack on Iraq.

"It would not resolve the problems," he told Europe 1 radio.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen repeated his nation's objections to the use of force, which were outlined in a letter sent Thursday to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

"China is extremely and definitely opposed to the use of military force because its use will result in a tremendous amount of human casualties and create more turmoil in the region," Qian said on state television.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin warned again Thursday that Russia was strongly opposed to an attack on Iraq, saying his country "shall not allow" military action.

"We have firmly adopted a stance of saying 'no' to the force scenario. It is impossible. It means an world war," Yeltsin said.

"I doubt that would happen," Clinton said. "I know (Yeltsin) very much hopes a violent confrontation will not happen. So do I. But in the end, it is up to Saddam Hussein. It is not up to the rest of us."

In other developments Thursday:

• Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met with Hussein in Baghdad. Turkey -- a neighbor of Iraq -- is a NATO ally of the United States, but Turkish officials have said they will not allow any attacks on Iraq to be launched from their territory.
  "It was my impression that President Saddam was receptive to my concerns, that is to say everybody's concerns, to avoid a military confrontation," Cem told CNN.
  
  
• Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Albright discussed the crisis by phone Thursday, according to Russia's foreign ministry. No details of the discussions were disclosed.
  
  
• U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson was trying to drum up support among non-permanent members of the Security Council, including Gambia and Brazil. Richardson said he received backing from Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
  
  
• Saudi Arabia warned Iraq of "disastrous consequences" if the Iraqi government doesn't relent and allow U.N. inspections.
  
  
• U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said that despite a plea by the International Olympic Committee, the United States would not agree to delay any military strike until after the Winter Olympics are over in Nagano, Japan.
  "We have no set timeline. We have not taken into account external events," he told a congressional committee. "It would not be responsible to say, 'Let's wait until the Olympics are over.'"
  In Tokyo, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper quoted an unidentified, high-ranking Foreign Ministry official as saying that the Japanese government would make a formal plea to the United States not to attack during the Nagano games.
  "We want the Nagano Olympics to proceed in a calm atmosphere," the official was quoted as saying.
  
  
• The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying Israel would respond to any attack by Iraq in the way it sees fit. The statement was in response to remarks by Cohen that the United States would "very strongly urge" Israel not to launch any retaliatory strikes.
  
  
• Americans living in Kuwait were told by their embassy to make sure their cars had a full tank of gas and to keep an adequate supply of food and water in their homes. But they were not advised to leave.

Concerns have been growing in Kuwait that, if attacked, Iraq might retaliate against its southern neighbor.

Correspondent Peter Arnett and Reuters contributed to this report.

Iraq Standoff Main  |  Latest Stories  |  Message Board

Related stories:

• Marine unit heads to Gulf; 3rd U.S. carrier arrives - February 5, 1997
• Yeltsin upbeat on Iraq, but repeats war risk - February 5, 1997
• Blair says Iraq diplomacy needs threat of force - February 5, 1997
• Iraq makes new inspection proposal - February 4, 1997
• New Iraqi proposal: 'visits' to presidential sites - February 4, 1997
• Israel tries to calm nervous public over attack threat - February 3, 1997

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