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Bush seeks U.N. help in IraqU.S. official: Chirac says France won't block new resolution
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- President Bush urged the United Nations on Tuesday to aid the U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq but said the restoration of the country's self-rule should not be rushed "by the wishes of other parties." Later, French President Jacques Chirac told Bush that France would not block a U.S. attempt to get a new U.N. Security Council resolution on postwar Iraq, according to a senior administration official familiar with the one-on-one meeting. In his speech, Bush acknowledged differences among U.N. members before the U.S.-led invasion in March, but he said members must "move forward" to rebuild Iraq. "Our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq were supported by many governments, and America is grateful to each one," Bush told the U.N. General Assembly. "I also recognize that some of the sovereign nations of this assembly disagreed with our actions. Yet there was, and there remains, unity among us on the fundamental principles and objectives of the United Nations." (Transcript: Bush's remarks, Gallery: Excerpted comments from the General Assembly) He said the new Security Council resolution the United States wants would expand the U.N.'s role in Iraq and that the world body had an important part to play in helping Iraq achieve self-rule. "Iraq's new leaders are showing the openness and tolerance that democracy requires and also the courage. Yet every young democracy needs the help of friends," Bush said. "Now the nation of Iraq needs and deserves our aid, and all nations of goodwill should step forward and provide that support." Bush defended the invasion, saying the United States and its allies "acted to defend the peace and the credibility of the United Nations. "The regime of Saddam Hussein cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction," he said. "It used those weapons in acts of mass murder and refused to account for them when confronted by the world." Bush said the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were part of a larger fight against terrorist groups that launched the attacks of September 11, 2001, and others around the world, including the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. Bush said there was "no neutral ground" in that fight. "All governments that support terror are complicit in a war against civilization. No government should ignore the threat of terror because to look the other way gives terrorists the chance to regroup and recruit and prepare," he said. "And all nations that fight terror as if the lives of their own people depend on it will earn the favorable judgment of history." In Washington, Bush's address drew mixed and largely partisan reviews from lawmakers, with Republicans praising his leadership and Democrats faulting what several described as a go-it-alone mentality. (Full story) Chirac: War undermined U.N.In his own speech to the General Assembly that followed Bush's, Chirac called for the restoration of self-rule in Iraq on a "realistic timetable." Chirac also criticized the U.S.-led invasion, saying it had undermined the United Nations and "shook the multilateral system. (Chirac: U.S. action brought crisis) "In an open world, no one can live in isolation, no one can act alone in the name of all, and no one can accept the anarchy of a society without rules," Chirac said. "There is no alternative to the United Nations." During a bilateral meeting after their speeches, Bush made it clear that a quick handover of political authority in Iraq was "not in the cards," and Chirac indicated France would not "stand in the way" of the new resolution, according to the senior Bush administration official. Bush told Chirac that the resolution would call for an "orderly transition" but that too many intangibles exist to set a specific timetable, the senior official said. Bush also said that with 140,000 U.S. troops in the country and $20 billion promised for reconstruction next year, he would not and could not get congressional support for transferring U.S. taxpayer dollars to the unelected Iraqi Governing Council, the official said. The official said the meeting proved the need to keep trying to find consensus language for the resolution. But the U.S. side said it was encouraged that Chirac indicated his disagreements with the United States would not translate into a French veto if a compromise cannot be reached, the official said. Bush also met with the leaders of Spain, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Morocco. He is to meet Wednesday with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, another staunch critic of his Iraq policy. Earlier Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered an implicit rebuke of the invasion of Iraq but urged U.N. members to assist in the country's reconstruction. (Full story) "Whatever view each of us may take of the events of recent months, it is vital for all of us that the outcome is a stable and democratic Iraq," Annan said in remarks to the opening of the General Assembly's plenary session. Annan criticized states that argued for "the right and obligation to use force pre-emptively" to head off perceived threats, but he urged the Security Council to figure out how to deal with similar questions in the future. "This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last 58 years," Annan said. "My concern is that, if it were adopted, it could set precedents that result in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification." The United States and its allies sought Security Council authorization to use force against Iraq, warning that Baghdad was defying U.N. resolutions to give up chemical and biological weapons, long-range missiles and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. The Bush administration argued that such weapons could be provided to terrorists. But the Security Council was unable to reach a consensus on the matter, and a U.S.-led force invaded Iraq without the blessing of the United Nations. "[Security Council] members may need to begin a discussion on the criteria for an early authorization of coercive measures to address certain types of threats -- for instance, terrorist groups armed with weapons of mass destruction," Annan said. He also announced the establishment of a high-level panel to review the U.N. structure with an eye toward improving its response to security threats and "other global challenges." The panel will be charged with reporting back to Annan within a year. "I believe the time is ripe for a hard look at fundamental policy issues and the structural changes that may be needed to in order to address them," he said. "History is harsh judge. It will not forgive us if we let this moment pass."
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