by Barbara Crossette
New York Times
March 11, 1998
President Clinton met today with Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations and assured him that the United States would consult with the Security Council before taking any military action against Iraq.
At the same time, Mr. Clinton sought assurance that the United Nations would not put obstacles in the path of American policy, United Nations officials said.
The President's remarks were a slight shift from an earlier Administration argument: that a Security Council resolution last week warning Iraq of serious consequences if it interfered with arms inspections gave the United States the authority it needed to use force.
"We believe that the resolution
gives us the authority to take whatever actions are necessary, but of
course we would consult," Mr. Clinton
ton told reporters before meeting
with Mr. Annan. "It would be un
thinkable that we wouldn't."
The statements were part of a sustained show of support today for Mr. Annan by the President and others, a welcome apparently intended to minimize any differences between Washington and the United Nations over how to proceed with Iraq. Mr. Annan responded by glossing over some earlier remarks he had made indicating that the United States still needed to return to the Security Council for authorization to attack Iraq if the inspections accord that Mr. Annan worked out with President Saddam Hussein fell apart. He told reporters that it would be easier to get action if the Iraqis now undercut the agreement. "President Clinton and I do disagree," Mr. Annan said. "I said some sort of consultation would be required, and I stand by that statement." Mr. Annan said several times today that there were no outstanding disagreements between him and the Administration.
A majority of Security Council members say Washington should get Council approval before taking military action. Later Mr. Clinton said at a White House ceremony marking International Women's Day that Mr. Annan deserves the thanks and appreciation of all Americans. The Secretary General also spoke at the event, to rousing applause from leaders of women's organizations. "Your work is important," Mr. Clinton told Mr. Annan, "and we intend to see that you succeed."
United Nations officials said the two had talked earlier in general terms about Iraq, aid to Africa, the growing danger of war in Kosovo and the stalled peace talks in the Middle east, where Mr. Annan will be traveling next week. Vice President Al Core was not present at the talks because he was meeting here with Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernoyrdin of Russia. Mr. Clinton and Mr. Annan also talked briefly about the American debt of $1.3 billion to the United Nations. House Republican leaders said today that they would hold up money for the debt, as well as funds for the International Monetary Fund, until the White House agreed to anti-abortion provisions in how international aid is used.
During the talks, Mr. Clinton asked when the United States would face losing voting rights in the United Nations, officials of the organization said later. The moment will come if the United States does not pay at least $600 million by Jan. 1, responded Joseph Connor, the United Nations Under Secretary General for Management and Budget. The Secretary General had not planned to meet legislators, in part because of the hostility some expressed when he went to Baghdad and struck a deal with President Hussein that allowed international arms inspections to resume after months of interruptions. But several Senators had a surprise for Mr. Annan. Jesse Helms, the North Carolina Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the United Nations - called an impromptu meeting in his office with Mr. Annan and Senator Rod Grams, Republican of Minnesota whose Committee overseas spending on the United Nations.
Mr. Annan also stood gamely through a jibe by Mr. Helms about being prepared to pay the $1.3 billion after the United Nations paid $3 billion it owes to the United States for peacekeeping work. The Administration rejects this argument, and at the United Nations the claim is not considered serious. The Secretary General also met with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, and is to meet eight other Democratic Senators before returning to New York on Thursday.
In New York today, Richard Butler, executive chairman of the commission charged with disarming Iraq, said he would return to Iraq this month. Inspections of eight "presidential" sites by new teams of inspectors accompanied by diplomats are expected within weeks. Mr. Annan said today that this week, for the first time in seven years, inspectors had been able to enter the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, as part of the new agreement with Baghdad. That agreement also provides for the diplomat "chaperones" at the most sensitive sites.
