Clinton Warns Iraq to Keep Deal

President Clinton said Tuesday that Iraq should be "under no illusion" it would escape severe punishment if it violated a pledge to permit unconditional U.N. weapons inspections. Aides said that meant military action.

On a day in which the Pentagon announced it was speeding plans to give anthrax vaccinations to the 36,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, Clinton praised a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing Secretary-General Kofi Annan's agreement with Iraq on weapons inspections. The resolution warned of "severest consequences" if Iraq failed to comply.

"The government of Iraq should be under no illusion," Clinton said at the conclusion of a White House event promoting tougher laws against drunken driving. "The meaning of `severest consequences' is clear."

"It provides authority to act if Iraq does not turn the commitment it has now made into compliance," he added. Hinting strongly that he might feel compelled to use military force, Clinton said, "No promise of peace and no policy of patience can be without its limits."

Other administration officials were more explicit on the question of a military option.

"This gives us the green light to approach our policy of diplomacy and force and it shows to the world once again that the onus of complying with this agreement is with Iraq," U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson said.

Even before Annan reached the accord with Iraq last week, the Clinton administration maintained that previous U.N. Security Council resolutions gave it the authority to use force against Iraq to ensure compliance. Most other Security Council members dispute that view, and they still question the American interpretation of Monday's resolution.

Envoys from many countries, including longtime U.S. allies, said Tuesday that only the Security Council has the authority to determine whether Iraq has breached the weapons inspections deal, and what should be done in response. Almost alone, Britain shares the U.S. view.

Before Monday's vote, China's U.N. ambassador, Qin Huasun, said Beijing had insisted "that there must not be any automatic authorization of the use of force against in Iraq in this current resolution."

Clinton called on Iraq to demonstrate its commitment to the inspections agreement a deal many Republicans have criticized as weak and unlikely to achieve U.S. policy goals.

"Iraq must fulfill without obstruction or delay its commitment to open all of the nation to the international weapons inspectors any place, any time, without any conditions, deadlines or excuses," he said.

At the State Department, spokesman James P. Rubin was asked by a reporter if the Clinton administration believes military action would be warrnted if Iraq wavered on inspections.

"We'll make that judgment at the time and place of our choosing, but we are making clear the principle underlying our policy, which is that a violation of this agreement is one that will, in our view, justify the use of military force," Rubin said.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Kenneth Bacon said, "We believe that the U.N. Security Council resolution allows us to do anything we need to do to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions. And we've felt that before this resolution, and we feel it after the resolution."

A CBS News poll indicated most Americans approve of the U.N. agreement but doubt that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will keep his promise to allow U.N. inspectors full access to suspected weapons sites.

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed favored the agreement, compared with 19 percent who opposed and 8 percent who didn't know. But 83 percent said Saddam would break his promise, 8 percent thought he would keep his word and 9 percent had no opinion.

Written by Robert Burns
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