German, French Iraq Demands Get Frosty Reception

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called the permanent members of the Security Council to a meeting in Geneva on Saturday to try and unite the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France behind a plan to stabilize Iraq. What he didn’t foresee was a list of amendments to a U.S. draft resolution put forward by France and Germany being handed to him as he tried to rally the veto-wielding council members into an agreement.

Topping the list of demands Germany and France passed on to Annan on Wednesday was the desire for more power to be transferred to the Iraqis and the United Nations in running the country than Washington currently desires. Though Germany is not a permanent member of the Security Council – it is currently sitting on the council as part of a two-year invitation -- its inclusion in the preparation of amendments alongside such influential Council powers as France and Russia will still carry weight due to its position within the European Union and its influence over other nations. The three countries actively opposed Washington's campaign to wage war in the run up to the invasion of Iraq.

EU still divided on Iraq

The stance of both Germany and France seems to be indicative of a general uncertainty over U.S. plans for the future of Iraq within the European Union. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Wednesday that the 15 EU nations were still “a long way from achieving consensus both among ourselves and with other members of the Security Council.”

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has closely coordinated his policy on Iraq with the French President Jaques Chirac and both leaders rejected the United States call for a multinational UN force to take the strain off coalition forces in Iraq. It was then that German and French diplomats started to work hard together on their proposed amendments.

These were passed onto U.S. officials at the UN in New York on Wednesday. The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN James Cunningham refused to comment directly on the amendments but instead remained focussed on the immense task of bringing the international community together on the best course of action in Iraq.

Amendments not the focus for Geneva

Cunningham said in a statement that the Geneva meeting would not focus on the amendment text but on what must be done to get the international community to come together "to get the job that we want done in Iraq."

That job seems to involve, according to the draft resolution from Washington, the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council cooperating with the United Nations and U.S. officials in Baghdad to produce "a timetable and program for the drafting of a new constitution for Iraq and for the holding of democratic elections."

Faster timetable to stability and sovereignty

However, it does not satisfy the Germans, French or Russians due to the lack of time frame the three countries believe is needed to bring rapid stability to Iraq. They contend that the U.S. draft leaves key decision making in the hands of the Iraqi Governing Council, which has taken months to form a Cabinet. Germany, France and Russia want a much faster timetable than the U.S. plan would provide.

Their amendments call for immediately “initiating under the auspices of the U.N. a new process leading ... to the full restoration of Iraqi authority” and for an interim Iraqi administration to take control of “all civilian areas, including control over natural resources and use of international assistance.”

Fischer calls for strategic reorientation

German foreign minister Joschka Fischer has made it clear that France and Germany will continue to press for a change of strategy. “It is important now that we introduce a strategic re-orientation,” said Fischer. “Only then will we be able to achieve peace in Iraq. It is a priority for us to restore Iraqi sovereignty and a legitimate Iraqi government as quickly as possible in order to establish security and stability that give Iraqis a new perspective.”

While the Germans, French and Russians are united in their call for the United Nations to assist the Governing Council in developing a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections, the Russians don't go as far in demanding the immediate handover of authority to Iraqis.

Powell dismisses amendments

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell immediately ridiculed the idea in an interview with the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera on Wednesday night. Powell argued that suggestions that all the United States would have to do was to find an Iraqi who was passing by and give him the government were not acceptable.

He added that it was also ludicrous and unfeasible for anyone to demand that American representative Paul Bremer and the coalition forces leave Iraq at this point in time.