Iraq Will Have Military Veto, Says Blair/UK--New World Media Watch

Full excerpts, links up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR MAY 26, 2004

1//The Telegraph, UK--IRAQ WILL HAVE MILITARY VETO, SAYS BLAIR (The new Iraqi government will have the power to veto military operations by British and US forces when it assumes power next month, Tony Blair has said. Mr Blair said that once sovereignty is transferred on June 30, coalition commanders would require the consent of the Iraqi administration for operations such as the recent US assault on Fallujah…His remarks are likely to prompt some misgivings in Washington, where some of the more "hawkish" elements in the administration have been arguing that the transfer should be largely symbolic.)



2//The News International, Pakistan--RUSSIA HESITATES ON IRAQ RESOLUTION (Russia Tuesday joined an international chorus of nations taking a grim view at a new UN draft resolution on Iraq pushed by Britain and the United States and hinted that it might use its veto power to kill the document. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would only back the draft after a new "legitimate" interim government was formed in Iraq…The source confirmed that Moscow wanted the US-led coalition to determine the structure of the new Iraqi government before a UN Security Council resolution confirming its rule can be adopted. "First, we have to decide the formation of the temporary government" in Iraq, the foreign ministry official said. "Then, the UN Security Council will adopt the appropriate resolution," the source said. The Russian foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it was trying to guarantee that a sovereign Iraq win control of its policies and economy, particularly its natural resources.)



3//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--PM HANDOVER TO COSTELLO WORRIES VOTERS(The leadership issue is set to hurt the Federal Government in the coming election, with a new Herald Poll finding almost half of all voters believe John Howard will not serve his full term if re-elected and have not yet warmed to Peter Costello. The poll reveals that 47 per cent of voters believe the Prime Minister will retire during the next term and that 41 per cent would be less likely to vote for the Coalition at the election late this year if they thought that Mr Costello, as is widely expected, would be his successor…Mr Howard warned a partyroom meeting that the Coalition faced "the fight of its life" and that the odds were against it winning the coming election - after the Herald Poll published yesterday showed Labor had a two-party-preferred vote of 56 per cent to 44 per cent.)


4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--IRAQ’S RELIGIOUS TIDE CANNOT BE TURNED BACK (…While the Americans handed control of Fallujah to a coalition of warlords and radical clerics, they are still searching for some authority in the south with any sort of legitimacy to take over the cities there where US troops have been battling Shi'ite militias. While Sunnis in Iraq have former military officers who can command authority, they still rely on radical Islamic clerics to provide them with legitimacy. In the Shi'ite south, there are no secular or military authorities, only clerics. It would seem that the United States is on the road to creating an Iraq of fiefdoms ruled by warlords and clerics, as is the case now in Afghanistan.)


5//The Globe and Mail, Canada--Liberal leader Paul Martin unveiled his party's health care platform Tuesday, promising to pump billions of dollars into the system without raising Canadian's taxes… Mr. Martin was also sure to take a shot at Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's tax cut plan, saying it would further damage Canada's system. "You cannot have a publicly funded, universally accessible health care system with American taxation levels," he said. "That is the fundamental issue -- It is not are you going to cut taxes a little bit? It is a very different philosophical base from which we start." Mr. Martin used Tuesday's speech to cement health care as the main plank of his election strategy, pledging to make lessening the strain on the system and hammering out a long-term solution with the provinces the top priorities of his government.)

Nice.

Powell, Blair Appear to Differ on Future U.S. Power in Iraq
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/25/international/europe/25CND-BLAI.html?ex=1086148800&en=ed8b7956ff46f7bd&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

But later in the day, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell appeared to contradict Mr. Blair's statement by saying American forces that remain in Iraq after the planned transfer of sovereignty will ``do what is necessary to protect themselves'' even if Iraqi authorities object.

Will any Iraqi Appointee dare ask any of the Occupiers to leave?

n/t

during the UN mess.....that the United States Army would never be under any command, including the UN or NATO.

Anyone remember that?

I cannot believe that the US would allow the Iraqi Governing council to take command of this country's army. That would be a new humiliation.

Tony Blair jumped the gun on Tuesday when he unequivocally promised that the new government in Baghdad will be able to exercise a veto over controversial US-led military operations after the handover of sovereignty on June 30.

The prime minister's remarks at his monthly Downing Street press conference appeared to go further than the White House, Pentagon or Foreign Office.

It was left to Downing Street officials to insist that the remarks applied to British forces, though not necessarily to US troops.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=66878&t=1