- DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters)
- Tensions over Iraq flared at a meeting of global business and political
leaders on Friday as angry exchanges between the United States and key
European allies spooked financial markets.
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- Senior U.S. official Richard Haass acknowledged at the
World Economic Forum that Washington had yet to make a convincing case
for military action against Baghdad after Russia and China joined France
and Germany in opposing any rush to war.
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- Haass insisted that war was not inevitable despite a
massive U.S. and British military buildup in the Gulf, declaring: "We
have not passed any point of no return."
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- The raw state of transatlantic relations and unease over
U.S. foreign policy were hot topics among some 2,000 of the world's movers
and shakers at their annual networking event.
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- The gloomy mood cast by economic uncertainty, corporate
scandals and the looming threat of war contrasted with the hubris of Davos
past, and with the outpouring of solidarity with the United States at a
special WEF session in New York last year.
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- Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said he expected
United Nations weapons inspectors to ask next week for more time to do
their job of checking on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.
He said the inspectors' report to the U.N. Security Council, due on Monday,
could not be a trigger for war.
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- "We are not convinced. Where are the justifications
of a war?" he asked in a debate staged by BBC World TV at the forum.
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- PUBLIC NOT CONVINCED
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- Haass, the State Department's director of policy planning,
said Washington was convinced the arms inspection process was flawed because
Iraq was withholding information on its stocks of chemical and biological
weapons materials.
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- But he admitted: "We have not convinced public opinion
of it...I sit here understanding all too well that we have yet to persuade
the international community of where things stand."
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- European Parliament President Pat Cox said U.S. power
required the force of international law and the United Nations could not
just be used as a rubber stamp.
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- "The reason why we have seen some fracturing of
the consensus is because more and more of public opinion has yet to be
convinced. We need more clear evidence," he said.
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- Pressed by European and Arab questioners, Haass declined
to give an assurance that Washington would seek a second Security Council
resolution to authorise any military strike.
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- "I would hope that ultimately we would be able to
fashion a consensus within the Council to do what is necessary to bring
about Iraqi disarmament," he said.
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- "If, however, that proves impossible, if the president
(George W. Bush) determines that, then be assured we will be prepared to
pull on as broad a coalition of states that are willing and able as possible."
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- A senior Democratic lawmaker said that when he had criticized
Bush on his blunt enunciation of U.S. foreign policy, the president had
replied "I don't do nuance."
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- "We had better learn to do nuance," said the
lawmaker, who asked not to be identified.
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- Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Reuters
in an interview that France and Germany should offer their own strategy
for fighting terrorism rather than carping at the United States.
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- "You can't stand by and criticize U.S. policy without
addressing a very serious alternative," Peres said.
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- MARKET FALLOUT
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- Growing strains between Washington and key European allies
sent the dollar tumbling on Friday and spurred global investors to seek
safety for their money.
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- European government bond futures hit new highs, gold
traded at near six-year highs, oil prices rose and the Swiss franc, traditionally
popular in times of strife, strengthened.
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- "Although the market was unhappy about the prospect
of an Iraq war, it's even less happy about the idea of major divisions
between Europe and the U.S. on this issue," said Shahab Jalinoos,
a currency strategist at UBS Warburg.
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- Policy analysts at the Davos meeting said relations between
the United States and Europe were at their lowest ebb for decades, with
deep mutual exasperation.
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- The crisis went far beyond this week's clash over the
timing and justification for any attack on Iraq, and reflected a growing
imbalance in military power, a rift on the nature of international rules
and divergent social values.
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- While Washington felt Europe was refusing to recognize
and confront threats to security, many Europeans felt the United States
was bent on setting its own rules, disregarding allies and pursuing military
solutions to global problems.
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- Experts said anger at the style of U.S. power and a growing
"values gap" over issues such as abortion, the death penalty
and gun control, were fueling anti-Americanism in Europe.
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- The rift was compounded by disunity and incoherence in
European Union efforts to create a common foreign policy, especially on
Iraq, and a growing gap between the United States and Europe in military
capabilities.
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- Security tightened on the second day of the forum, with
a police helicopter hovering over the snowbound Alpine resort and extra
barriers brought in to hold back scattered demonstrations.
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- The main anti-globalization protest is planned for Saturday.
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