- U.S. officials are furious at France and Germany for
reportedly developing a new proposal to extend United Nations weapons inspections
in Iraq, as trans-Atlantic tensions over how best to disarm Saddam Hussein
continue to worsen.
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- According to U.S. officials, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld asked German Defense Minister Peter Struck about the plan after
German media outlined its proposals but was told Berlin was not ready to
discuss the plan with Washington. A senior U.S. official later told reporters
the French-German tactic was not the way to have a winning hand with Washington.
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- The defense ministers met on the fringes of an international
security conference in Munich, where Mr. Rumsfeld publicly criticized France,
Germany and Belgium for blocking NATO efforts to defend Turkey in the event
of war in Iraq. He said delaying preparations for war would only make war
more likely, not less.
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- French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Paris
has not ruled out the use of force to disarm Iraq, but she said war should
be the last resort.
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- German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he is not
convinced of the need for military action against Iraq at this time.
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- Although German and French officials would not publicly
discuss details of their reported plan, the magazine Der Spiegel said it
would triple the number of inspectors and deploy U.N. troops throughout
Iraq.
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- Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
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- http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=D1F83591-17EC-4D05-93CE7A1689CA7
- 292&title=US%20Angered%20Over%20Reported%20French%2DGerman%20Plan
- %20to%20Ext end%20Iraq%20Inspections
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