U.S. Looks for Support for Iraq War

UNITED NATIONS - With diplomacy in what the White House calls a "final phase," Washington faces an uphill struggle in winning international support for a war against Iraq, with the majority of U.N. Security Council members calling for more weapons inspections and a peaceful disarming of Baghdad

Neither the largely negative reports from U.N. inspectors nor President Bush (news - web sites)'s State of the Union address, which tried to build a case for war, has altered the positions of key council members

Wed. January 29, 2003

At a council meeting Wednesday that provided the first official reactions to the inspectors' reports, 11 of the 15 members opposed a rush to military action, council diplomats told The Associated Press

Supporting continued inspections were France, Russia and China, which all have veto power, as well as Germany, Mexico, Chile, Guinea, Cameroon, Syria, Angola and Pakistan. Only Bulgaria and Spain backed the United States and Britain in focusing on Iraq's failures rather than the inspections process

The Security Council is not scheduled to take up Iraq again until Powell comes to New York on Feb. 5 for a special meeting to present evidence of Iraq's secret weapons programs and links to terrorist groups.

In a letter published Thursday in newspapers including The Wall Street Journal and the Times of London, the leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark paid homage to the "bravery and generosity of America" in ensuring peace in Europe