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U.S. expecting 'mixed report' from BlixBush: U.N. must show whether it has 'resolve' to enforce resolution
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials expect a "mixed report" Friday morning from chief U.N. weapons inspectors and are preparing a new U.N. resolution that makes clear Iraq has not disarmed and "that the time has come to enforce" the resolution that returned inspectors to Iraq. President Bush said the Security Council soon would have to demonstrate "whether or not it has the resolve" to enforce Resolution 1441, which promised "serious consequences." "The decision is this for the United Nations: When you say something, does it mean anything?" Bush said in a speech at a U.S. Navy station in Jacksonville, Florida. The White House has urged chief inspector Hans Blix to report "just the facts" and insisted there can be no reading of the facts that does not support the conclusion that Iraq is not cooperating with U.N. verification of disarmament. But senior officials say Blix is under pressure from other council members to present a report that offers hope that prolonging the inspections might bring progress. "So we expect a mixed report," said one senior official. "He is trying to satisfy 15 bosses and he also knows that his words could have consequences." The head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday he does not believe war is inevitable. "I think we still have a chance if we continue with our work, if Iraq provides full cooperation, we should still be able to avoid a war," said Mohamed ElBaradei, who will also present a report to the council. In a sign of the high stakes involved, Secretary of State Colin Powell and foreign ministers from Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain are all traveling to New York to present their countries' views, rather than leaving the task to their U.N. ambassadors. Blix will take questions after his presentation and some are expected to address Iraq's al-Samoud 2 missile which a report said "went beyond" the 93 miles (150 kilometers) allowed by U.N. resolutions. Despite that report, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told the French television network TF1 that Iraq no longer has missiles that can reach Israel as it did in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Israeli officials quickly dismissed Aziz's comments, with one adding, "Whatever they are saying now is all an attempt to build up opposition to any possible war." Iraq's National Assembly will convene in "extraordinary session" Friday, shortly before the inspections report to the Security Council, Iraqi officials said. (Full story) Meanwhile, senior officials from the Pentagon, CIA, State Department and National Security Council met at the White House to review war plans with Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region. The Pentagon said Thursday that it had met the goal of moving 150,000 troops within striking distance of Iraq by mid-February. There are 156,000 troops now under Central Command from eastern Pakistan to the coastal countries of East Africa and more are arriving daily. (Full story) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday that in the event of war U.S. troops would stay in Iraq for "as long as is necessary" to disarm the country and begin the process of building a stable, post-Saddam government. Emergency talks at NATO headquarters over how to break the impasse on when to start making plans to protect Turkey should there be war against Iraq were postponed Thursday. Germany, Belgium and France have blocked the initiative, saying it would damage efforts to resolve the Iraqi crisis peacefully. But Germany's defense minister said the deadlock would be broken after the inspectors report to the United Nations. CNN Correspondents John King and Andrea Koppel and Producer Ronni Berke contributed to this report.
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