State Department Noon Briefing

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2001
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)


Q: Could I ask you - I just want to know. Let's get into Iraq a
little deeper than we did yesterday, please, because the British have
made their move, and I guess you wanted to let some time pass. But,
you know, this has been described as a joint US-British move, but what
the British are suggesting, doesn't it indeed coincide with US policy?

MR. BOUCHER: Yes.

Q: All right. So why were they up front instead of the US or instead
of the two together?

MR. BOUCHER: We're working with others on this. We're working closely
with the international community. We're working with the frontline
states, working with the Permanent 5, with other members of the
Security Council. We're discussing a similar approach. We're
exchanging ideas. As I said yesterday, those ideas are getting more
and more concrete; some of them are being put on paper.

The point is to work together to help the Iraqi people at the same
time as we control the ability of the regime in Baghdad to develop
weapons of mass destruction. We do expect a draft resolution will be
circulated in the Security Council next week. We are working closely
with the British in that regard and with other members of the Council
on the resolution. We are working towards what will be a significant
change in our approach to Iraq in the United Nations. As you've heard
from us before, the focus is on strengthening controls to prevent Iraq
from rebuilding military capability and weapons of mass destruction
while facilitating a broader flow of goods to the civilian population
of Iraq.

Q: But I thought the Secretary's position - February - it's a few
years - few months later now. Have you any update on whether the
sanctions - I mean, you know, the Swiss cheese sanctions against
weapons is being plugged?

MR. BOUCHER: As we have said, we are working on the implementation of
that. We talked about it yesterday, we talked about it today. We are
going to have a resolution next week. Has it been done yet? No, it's
not done yet. We are doing it.

Q: No, you do need a new resolution to appeal and urge, as he did,
some of your best friends in the region to work a little harder to
deny transit of weapons material to Iraq. I was just asking if that
has borne any fruit so far.

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we expected to see immediate results during
the period we are now. We expect to see a coming together of the
countries involved to implement a new system of controls on weapons to
Iraq; to implement a more open flow of goods for the Iraqi people; to
implement, strengthen controls on smuggling to and from Iraq; to
implement ways to protect economies of neighbors, should Iraq try to
retaliate for this.

So there's a lot of pieces to this, as we have discussed. And all
those pieces are being put together, some of them in the resolution,
some of them through unilateral actions, some of them through action
by frontline states. And so all those pieces are coming together now,
is where I put it.

Q: Well, what about the inspection piece? Is that a prerequisite for
removing the civilian sanctions?

MR. BOUCHER: Part of the puzzle is better controls on smuggling in and
out of Iraq.

Q: How about these weapons inspectors, return of weapons inspectors?

MR. BOUCHER: Support for the UN resolutions is still strong. We
continue to believe that Iraq must comply with Resolution 1284. But
right from the beginning, the Secretary has said that we will do what
we think is appropriate in terms of controlling Iraq's access to
weapons of mass destruction. We will do what we think is appropriate
in terms of allowing the Iraqi people to get what they need, even
though they suffer under the regime.

The Iraqis, if they want to show that they are not building weapons of
mass destruction, if they want to substantiate the mostly incredible,
non-credible claims that they keep making, if they want to do that by
inviting inspectors in, then good. They still have the need and the
obligation. But we are going to do what we think is necessary to make
sure they don't have the ability to develop weapons of mass
destruction.

Q: Let me just go one step further. Obviously, it's always said there
are other means, and you have other means besides on-site inspection,
and I think you are saying that again. But the question is, do they
have to permit on-site inspection to get out from under these civilian
sanctions, and I think you are saying no.

MR. BOUCHER: We never have said that that was part of the picture. It
is not a trade with Iraq. It is a statement that we are going to do
what we think is appropriate vis-à-vis the regime and vis-à-vis the
Iraqi people. And what we think is appropriate for the Iraqi people is
that they be allowed to get civilian goods. What we think is
appropriate with regard to the regime is that they not be allowed to
get the materials that they could use, that they would use, to
threaten their neighbors in the region.

Q: Well, Richard, all this is still contingent on allowing inspectors
back in, correct?

MR. BOUCHER: He just asked that question four times, and I just said
no four times. So you get number five, and I will say no to you, too.

Q: Sorry.

Q: Russia said today - the Deputy Foreign Minister says - that at
this point, Russia does not support this proposal. Do you chalk that
up to just the consultations not being finished yet, or could you
explain to us some of the problems Iraq is having with it?

And let me just say, Jordan is saying that the neighboring states will
be hurt by what this proposal looks like at this point, and I know
that is something the Secretary said they were going to try very hard
not to let happen.

MR. BOUCHER: As far as Russia goes, we are continuing our
consultations with Russia, and when the Russian Foreign Minister comes
here tomorrow this will obviously be a subject that the Secretary
discusses with him.

In terms of the frontline states and the steps that they need to take,
we are aware that Iraq is making threats against them, Iraq is making
threats to have some sort of economic retaliation, and we have been
talking to them and talking to others about ways to protect their
economies should Iraq try to carry out those threats.

Q: So you think they will be satisfied when it comes to the final
approval?

MR. BOUCHER: As I said, that is one of the pieces that has to come
together to get everybody working on this.

Q: So could you say at this point that you have a commitment from the
frontline states to stop any weapons flow going in and stop any
smuggling from coming out?

MR. BOUCHER: I think we have had a commitment, a general commitment,
all along; a general consensus from people all along to move in that
direction, to do the things that were necessary to make this new
system work. And certainly the people in the neighborhood are the most
careful, need to be the most careful, about making sure that Iraq
doesn't rebuild its capabilities.

So I think we have a desire to move in this direction from all the
people involved, and now we are in the point of moving the kind of
steps and specific actions that all of us have to take to make it
work.

Q: Yes, I wondered if you could explain something on this. Is it
correct to think that the United Nations would have to approve,
continue to have to approve every contract of imports into Iraq,
including civilian goods, if only to say that this is a civilian good
contract and therefore can go through without any problems?

And then I have a follow-up.

MR. BOUCHER: I think we will come out with some of these details as we
put all the pieces in place. There will obviously be goods that none
of us want Iraq to acquire. There will obviously be goods which we all
think are fine. There will obviously be some dual-use things in the
middle. There's different ways of handling those reviews. So who
decides that this is one of these and not one of those is one of the
questions we have to discuss with the different partners and members
up at the UN. They won't necessarily all come, all get reviewed, in
the Sanctions Committee, for example. They may get reviewed through
some other mechanism.

Q: Do you think you have time to finish that off in time for the - by
June the 4th? I mean, you seem pretty vague about lots of the details.
Are you going to have time to do this?

MR. BOUCHER: We are working on many, many details with people, and we
hope they can all be brought together by an early date, but we will
see. I don't have a particular timing, other than to say we hope to
move on the resolution next week.

Q: And my follow-up is this. I mean, the whole point to this was to
overcome - to win the propaganda battle against the Iraqis, who say
that the United Nations is responsible for the hardship and sufferings
of the Iraqi people. But as long as the United Nations continues to
hold all the money, how are you going to win this propaganda battle,
and as long as the UN is reviewing every contract, as they do now?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, obviously I can start by convincing you.
(Laughter.) Try, just try it.

The effect of this on the Iraqi people is that they will see goods
showing up. They will be able to acquire things. The flow will be
smoother. The ability to get a hold of things they need will be
easier, except for whatever restrictions and problems that are caused
by the regime. It will --

Q: It's the same now.

MR. BOUCHER: Let's stop arguing and let me finish the answer, and then
you can argue with me.

The fact is, if there is a smoother flow, a better flow, and people
get what they want, I think people will realize there has been a
change. If they realize it is available, if they realize there are no
impediments to getting it, but that things don't show up, I think
they'll realize much more quickly who is at fault. So I don't think
there is any particular problem in a system which allows a very, very
smooth and almost unimpeded flow where somebody is watching what's
going and knowing what's going.

The money is certainly there. There's billions of dollars - $16 - $20
billion available this year for the Iraqi regime to spend. The fact
that they're not spending it and the goods aren't showing up is quite
clearly the fault of the regime.

Q: You've been saying for months that the only problem with the flow
is that they're not ordering the goods. Why would they suddenly start
ordering goods and allowing a free flow just because you've changed
the system - to undermine their confidence?

MR. BOUCHER: It will be clear that there are no impediments from our
side to the flow of civilian goods.

Q: But you've been saying there are no impediments anyway. Why will
people suddenly believe you just because you've tinkered with the
system?

MR. BOUCHER: Well, obviously I ought to give up on you and try
somebody else. (Laughter.) There will be a clear definition, a clearer
definition of the goods which are allowed to go. It will be quite
clear from reporting what's prohibited and what's permitted, and a
smaller class of goods in between.

So if the Iraqi regime wants to say you didn't get a refrigerator
because of the bad Sanctions Committee, it will be clear to all that
refrigerators or whatever are on the Sanctions Committee list of
permitted items, so you can't maintain that it's a Sanction Committee
problem when it's quite clear that the Sanctions Committee, or
whoever, says no problem with refrigerators. So I think that will help
things out. I think refrigerator trucks is one of the examples cited
all the time.

So whatever these things are, it will be quite clear there is a
broader and bigger and clearer list of things that are no problem.

Q: Can we change the subject?

MR. BOUCHER: In the end, if it works, things will be available and
people will know they're available. If that happens, then I would
expect the Iraqi population to understand the source of their
troubles.