US proposes UN resolution for Iraq
A new draft resolution on Iraq has been put to ambassadors of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
However France and Germany have already warned that it does not give the UN a significant enough role in the reconstruction in the country and amendments will need to be made if it is to be accepted.
The resolution is seeking greater international help in Iraq after continuing attacks on US and UK forces and a realisation that current numbers of troops are inadequate and more money is needed.
One of France’s main objections is that the draft allows the US to retain both political and military control. The French, who strongly opposed the war, want the country handed back to the Iraqis as soon as possible.
President Jacques Chirac said that France is ready to examine the proposals but points out that they do not contain the primary objective of handing political responsibility to an Iraqi government as soon as possible.
Yesterday Tony Blair maintained that all countries, including those that did not support the war, have ‘a common interest’ in seeing a stable and prosperous Iraq.
The draft resolution comes as Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced a review of the British presence in south-east Iraq, and US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, called for additional international forces of around 15,000 troops.
