U.S. Scorns Franco-German Peace Plan

A further row has erupted between the U.S. and Germany over reports that Germany and France have been developing independent plans regarding the disarmament of Iraq.

Though France has denied that there is any such plan, German Defense Minister Peter Struck confirmed on Sunday a report by Der Spiegel magazine that Berlin and Paris would present to the U.N. Security Council a joint plan to try to avert war in Iraq by reinforcing arms inspectors.

"We hope that the initiative will be taken up positively in the Security Council on Feb. 14," Struck told German public television. Struck confirmed that the plan -- which would involve tripling the number of weapons inspectors in Iraq, backing them up by sending thousands of U.N. troops and turning the whole of the Gulf state into a no-fly zone -- was initiated by German Chancellor Schröder and French President Chirac. The German Defense Minister said that the plan was at an advanced stage, but he would leave it to Chancellor Schröder to reveal details in an address to parliament on Thursday.

Asked whether Germany would be prepared to participate in the proposed U.N. force, Struck said, "we could well take part in that."

On Saturday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer too alluded to a common Franco-German initiative that has reportedly been negotiated by Schröder and Chirac in secret meetings over the past weeks. Fischer said that he wanted to strengthen the force of the inspection regime in Iraq and increase the number of weapons inspectors from the present 100 to 2,000.

U.S. angry at being kept in the dark

America has scorned news of the Franco-German initiative to be presented at a crucial U.N. Security Council session on Friday.

"More inspectors doesn't answer the question and what France has to do and what Germany has to do... is read 1441 again," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Fox News Sunday in the United States.

Officials from the American delegation who participated in a two-day high-level security conference in Munich over the weekend reacted angrily to news of the Franco-German initiative.

U.S. security expert Richard Perle said, "what do we need more time for?" He said that the initiative had served to strengthen the impression in the American delegation that Germany and France want to isolate America.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who addressed the conference on Saturday said he learned about the Franco-German initiative through the press.

The former U.S. Defense Secretary, William Cohen said on Sunday in Munich that this wasn’t the time to talk about 2000 weapons inspectors or 20,000 U.N. troops. He said it would be more useful when the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council would cooperate on getting Saddam Hussein to disarm. Cohen also said he was unhappy that he wasn’t informed about the initiative.

Republican Senator John McCain criticized the Franco-German project as an "advertising gimmick". McCain said that instead of discussing the initiative with allies, reports about it had first surfaced in the media. "I think it would be nice, if one consulted his friends," he said pointedly.

Russia could back Franco-German plan

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Russia would back the Franco-German plan to try to avert war in Iraq if the U.N. Security Council discussed it.

"I have no doubt that Russia will adhere to it," he told a
news conference at the security council in Munich.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a four-day visit to Germany and France, is expected to meet with German Chancellor Schröder on Sunday evening and be briefed of the Franco-German initiative before heading to Paris to meet President Chirac.

Major German-U.S. differences over Iraq

On Saturday, sharp differences between the German and American positions over Iraq surfaced as the high-profile security conference got underway in Munich.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a speech that it was hard to believe that sensible people could still doubt the threat that Iraq posed in light of the evidence provided by Secretary of State Colin Powell at the U.N. Security Council last week.

Rumsfeld urged the international community to support the military pressure on Saddam Hussein to avoid a war. "If the international community once again shows a lack of decisiveness, then there’s no chance that Saddam Hussein will voluntarily disarm or flee and thus no chance for a peaceful outcome," he said.

Rumsfeld said that Iraq had been given years to disarm and now the world would know within "days or weeks" whether it was cooperating with U.N. inspectors. "He (Saddam) has not been contained, he is successfully getting into that country darn near everything he wants," he said.

Fischer: "I am not convinced"

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer criticized the U.S. strategy in the war against terror and said he couldn’t see any justification for a war against Iraq.

"I am not convinced. That is my problem. I cannot go the public and say that these are the reasons because I won’t believe in them," Fischer said.

The German Foreign Minister instead said that the U.N. weapons inspectors should continue their work and be given more time to carry out inspections. Fischer turned down Rumsfeld’s demand for a quick decision. "We shouldn’t just follow the logic of a military attack," he said.

The minister renewed his criticism of the U.S. stance of forcing Iraq to disarm through war if necessary. He said the international community was not yet finished with its responsibilities in Afghanistan and the weeding out of the extremist Al Qaeda.

"That’s the first critical question that I ask is why is this being prioritized now? To this day I can't see why. Saddam Hussein is a terrible dictator. But we have known that for a long time," he said. Fischer also reiterated the high risks that a war in Iraq could mean for stability in the Middle East and the war against terror.

NATO dispute simmers

On Sunday German Defense Minister Struck announced that Germany and the Netherlands would supply Turkey with anti-aircraft patriot missiles by the end of next week to protect it in the event of a war against Iraq. It was hoped that the German overture would go towards appeasing American frustration with NATO, which has been delaying a decision to fulfill the U.S. request to provide military aid to Turkey to protect it in the eventuality of a war against Iraq.

On Saturday Rumsfeld had sharply criticized the German, French and Belgian moves to stall the NATO decision."I can’t imagine doing that, it is beyond my comprehension... Turkey is an ally, the North Atlantic Treaty provides for this. Turkey is a member of the alliance. To prevent defensive capabilities – just the planning, not even deployment – I think that is inexcusable," Rumsfeld told the conference on Saturday.

But Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said on Sunday that his country would block any such defense preparations and France indicated it might do the same.