| Australia |
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| … Prime Minister John Howard said he would commit 2,000 military personnel to join in a war against Iraq. … "This government has taken a decision which it genuinely believes is in the medium- and longer-term interests of this country," Howard said. (AP 3/18) |
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| Germany (CDU/CSU Opposition Parties) |
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| Unlike Schröder, Germany's major opposition parties endorsed the course set by Bush. "We regret that the use of military force has become more likely and that the U.N. Security Council was unable to reach a unified position on the question of completely and unconditionally disarming Iraq, even though it unanimously determined that a threat to world peace existed," a statement said. The statement was passed on (March 18) with only four negative votes by the combined parliamentary groups of the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. (Deutsche Welle 3/19) |
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| Italy |
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| Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, in a newspaper interview to be published (March 18), said that the government would ask Parliament to endorse "the minimum base of logistical support, in particular, the use of bases and flying through air space." Frattini, interviewed by the daily Il Riformista, said Italy made it clear early on to the Americans that it would not contribute troops to any armed intervention against Iraq. "Not because we doubted the (Security Council) Resolution 1441 isn't sufficient to provide a legal basis" of forced disarmament of Iraq, Frattini said, according to interview excerpts released March 17. "But because Italy's commitment toward peace has been traditionally distinguished by its capacity to contribute to peacekeeping operations." (AP 3/17) |
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| Japan |
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| Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan supports the U.S. position on Iraq and believes the use of force can be justified by existing U.N. resolutions, although there is still a chance for peace. "President Bush has made various efforts to gain international cooperation," Koizumi told reporters. "Amid such efforts, I believe it was an unavoidable decision," he said, referring to President George W. Bush's ultimatum for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to flee his country in 48 hours or face an invasion. "I support the U.S. stance," he said. The prime minister said hope of a peaceful end to the crisis is not dead but depends on Saddam Hussein. "Although extremely limited, I believe peaceful solutions can still be found. But it is solely up to the government of Iraq and President Hussein," Koizumi said. (AFX 3/18) |
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| Korea |
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| "We share the statement made by my British colleague. Resolution 1441 was quite clear. In Paragraph 4, it established, in a nonequivocal way, that any false statement or omission or the sheer fact of not cooperating fully would constitute a further material breach. We believe that the government of Iraq was given a last opportunity and it has squandered it." |
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| Latvia |
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| Similar pro-U.S. support was voiced in neighbouring Latvia, which along with Lithuania and eight other eastern European countries last month signed a declaration lining up behind Washington. "The diplomatic means to reach the disarmament of Iraq are almost exhausted," the Latvian foreign ministry said, adding that Baghdad was only offering some cooperation because of the large military build-up in the Persian Gulf. "Latvia urges the U.N. Security Council and international community to preserve unity and put maximal pressure on Saddam Hussein's regime. It is the only remaining opportunity to disarm Iraq by peaceful means," it said in a statement. (AFP 3/17) |
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| Lithuania |
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| "We are for a diplomatic solution of the crisis, but if needed we shall politically support the United States using other means," Lithuanian Defence Minister Linas Linkevicius told reporters after the country's defence council met. "It is clear that the scope for a peaceful dialogue is diminishing," he said, after the meeting of the council, which groups the president, prime minister, parliamentary speaker, defence minister and head of the army. (AFP 3/17) |
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| Philippines |
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| Philippines foreign affairs undersecretary Lauro Baja said Manila was among the 30 countries that have openly backed Washington …. Baja, who is representing Philippines Foreign Minister Blas Ople, said Manila "perceives there is a failure of the U.N. to act. Our national interest also dictates that we support a method which will really disarm Iraq and perhaps promote a safer and more stable Middle East region where we have 1.5 million workers," he said. |
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| Poland |
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| Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said late on March 17 he had agreed to send up to 200 Polish soldiers to Iraq to join a posible-U.S.-led campaign to dissarm Saddam Hussein. "We are prepared to use the Polish military continent to force Iraq to respect U.N. Security Council resolution 1441," Kwasniewski told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Leszek Miller. He said the Polish troops would would lend logistical support to U.S. forces in Iraq in the region for a period limited from March 19 to September 15, he said. … Kwasniewski's announcement, which came following a meeting with his prime minister, came shortly before a speech to the nation by U.S. President George W. Bush on Iraq. (AFP 3/18) |
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| Romania |
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| Iraqi leader Saddam Husayn will have to choose between abandoning power and fully complying with Resolution 1441 of the U.N. Security Council, or facing a war, Romanian head of state Ion Iliescu said March 17 in Oltenita, southern Romania. Iliescu pointed out that talks within U.N. Security Council on the crisis on Iraq would be concluded on March 17 or 18, waiting for "the moment of truth". Asked whether Romania would still support a military intervention in Iraq in the absence of a second U.N. resolution, Iliescu answered that the issue was not about actual support: "It's not about supporting an intervention as we don't even have the means to do it, it's about meeting certain obligations as allies." To this end, said Iliescu, Romania has opened its airspace to ally planes, provided the ally troops with ground logistics support, and contributed post-conflict and non-combatant military troops for humanitarian missions. (Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 3/17, as monitored by the BBC) |
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| Taiwan |
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| Taiwan supports U.S. call for Iraq President Saddam Hussein to go into exile within 48 hours to avert a war, but offered its air space to U.S. military planes should war become inevitable, foreign ministry officials said. (Foreign) Ministry spokesman Richard Shih said Taiwan hopes "Iraq would swiftly destroy their weapons of mass destruction in abiding by the U.N. 1441 Resolution, and Saddam would leave his country in 48 hours if he is to avert war." Taiwan also reiterated its support of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. "Therefore U.S. military aircraft could fly from Japan through Taiwan's two air routes -- one called A-1 to the west of Taiwan and the other G581 to the east -- en route to Southeast Asia and the Middle East," defense ministry spokesman Huang Suey-sheng told reporters. He said a special defense ministry task force is on stand by in case war should start. (source: AFX 3/18) |
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