STATE OF THE DEBATE WITHIN THE SECURITY COUNCIL

The five permanent and 10 elected members of the United Nations Security Council are considering a second resolution that would find Iraq still in violation of its disarmament demands and would likely pave the way for a military assault on the Middle Eastern nation. A resolution requires a "super majority" of nine votes to pass. If any of the permanent members (U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia) vote "no" on a resolution it is automatically vetoed.

The following are the official and widely reported positions of the 15 countries as of March 14, 2003.

PERMANENT MEMBERS

China
China supports the France-German position and would likely vote no or abstain on a new resolution, but officials have not said that they would use China's veto powers, according to The New York Times, BBC and Washington Post.

On March 11, President Jiang Zemin told U.S. President George W. Bush by telephone that the current resolution, 1441, is fine and that there was "no need for any new resolution."

China has not commented on the British compromise.

France
France opposes a U.S-led invasion of Iraq, instead favoring continued inspections. They have said they will veto any resolution that sets a military ultimatum, and have rejected a British proposal to give Baghdad a list of deeds to carry out within a few days to avoid war.

"We cannot accept the British proposals insofar as they are part of a logic of war, a logic of automatic recourse to war," said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

"Should we go to war to preserve the unity of the international community? What surprising reasoning!" he said on French television on March 14. "That's a hasty rush that seems dangerous to me."

Russia
A permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, Russia has said that it will not support another U.N. resolution on Iraq that would warrant the use of force although it remains unclear as to whether Russia would veto or abstain from a vote on a new proposal. Russia has said that weapons inspectors have achieved "essential" progress in Iraq's disarmament under U.N. Resolution 1441 and that imposing a strict deadline that will be seen as a precursor to war is unnecessary.

"Russia believes that there is no need now for any additional resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, and therefore Russia has openly announced that, if the draft resolution, which has been submitted today for consideration and which contains unfulfillable ultimatum demands, is put to vote after all, Russia will vote against that resolution," Igor Ivanov, Russian foreign minister, said on March 10.

United Kingdom
The second resolution was proposed by Britain. The U.K. has also proposed a series of tests Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein must fulfill in order to avoid war and has expressed willingness to push for an extension of the deadline by about 10 days.

Despite its compromise proposal, the British government has clearly declared that Iraq must be disarmed, either through inspections or by force.

"What is at stake here is not whether the United States goes alone or not, it is whether the international community is prepared to back up the clear instruction it gave to Saddam Hussein with the necessary action," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. "The best thing is to go flat-out for that second resolution."

United States
The United States is one of the primary supporters of a resolution authorizing war in Iraq. In a national address March 6, President Bush outlined why the U.S. wants to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power and rid Baghdad of its alleged weapons of mass destruction through military force.

"Saddam Hussein has a long history of reckless aggression and terrible crimes," Mr. Bush said. "He possesses weapons of terror. He provides funding and training and safe haven to terrorists -- terrorists who would willingly use weapons of mass destruction against America and other peace-loving countries. Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country, to our people, and to all free people."

ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

Angola
Angola has not committed to a stance on the Iraq resolution. Angola's ambassador to the United Nations, Ismael Gaspar Martins, dismissed reports this week that the African states on the council are attempting to form a voting bloc.

"We are not forming a united African front," Martins told reporters, "We are trying to reach a consensus within a group of six countries to be able to act and assist in creating a consensus that we need of the council, not just of the six."

Bulgaria
Bulgaria, one of the so-called "New Europe" states, has indicated it would support the U.S. and British proposals and has emphasized the importance of preserving the unity of the U.N. Security Council.

"No matter how serious this crisis is, I certainly don't think it's worth dividing [Europe from the U.S.]," Prime Minister Simeon Sexe-Coburg Gota has said.

Chile
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos has tried to broker a compromise resolution. He offered a plan on March 14 that would have set a four-to five-week deadline for Iraq to disarm. The White House quickly rejected the idea.

President Bush and Secretary Powell have lobbied Chilean leaders, but the Andean nation has not committed either way on the second resolution proposed by the U.S. and Britain.

"A conflict not sanctioned by the United Nations would be a dreadfully negative thing," Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said.

Cameroon
While it has not officially stated how it will vote on a second resolution, the Associated Press and Reuters both report that Cameroon is likely to support U.S.-British compromise.

At the U.N. Security Council meeting on March 7, the permanent representative of Cameroon to the U.N., Martin Belinga-Eboutou, said "we must together seek, in good faith, a credible alternative to war and to endless inspections."

Germany
Germany has indicated it will vote against the U.S.-British compromise and has said it does not see any justification for military action against Iraq.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder campaigned for re-election late last year on a anti-Iraq war platform and has been a staunch opponent to any regime change in Baghdad.

"With an extended inspection regime, we can achieve a lasting and verifiable disarmament and that is why it was and remains right that we have insisted on the logic of peace rather than entering into a logic of war," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the German parliament in a state of the nation address on March 14.

Guinea
Guinea, the former French colony and current chair of the U.N. Security Council, has not officially declared its intentions on a second resolution and has said it may abstain from any final vote. The ambassador has expressed support for continued inspections and has called on Iraq to better comply with inspectors' demands.

"Guinea may opt for abstention. The United States has already made it clear that an abstention would be tantamount to voting against the resolution," Radio Guinea International reported on March 13.

Mexico
Mexico – a top U.S. trade partner - has not decided whether it will support the second draft resolution authorizing military force against Iraq.

Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista said on March 13 that Mexico continues to work with other member nations to find the best way to peacefully disarm Iraq. He added that the Mexican government is hesitant to approve the second resolution because it lacks support from the international community.

President Vicente Fox outlined his view on March 12, saying, "We continue our country's great effort to achieve peace while also winning Iraq's disarmament... Mexico's voice is being heard around the world ... our commitment is to resolving the Iraq conflict peacefully."

Pakistan
Pakistan officially remains in the undecided column, although Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said in a national address March 11 that his country would be hard-pressed to support the United States in its resolution calling for military action in Iraq.

"It would be very difficult for Pakistan to support war against Iraq," he said. "This goes against the interests of my nation and my government." Jamali did not specifically mention how Pakistan plans to vote on the resolution.

However, news organizations - including the Associated Press, Reuters and London's Financial Times newspaper - have widely reported that Pakistan will abstain from the U.N. vote.

Spain
Spain co-sponsored the new resolution along with the U.K. and U.S. Although it remains largely unpopular within Spain, the government continues to call on its adoption by the Security Council.

"I will not resign myself to the United Nations Security Council showing itself to be incapable of complying with resolutions it was capable of passing unanimously," Prime Minister Jese Maria Aznar. "We are working... so that the Security Council maintains its respect, its credibility and that it be a guarantor for peace and world security."

Syria
The only Arab nation on the Security Council, Syria believes U.N. weapons inspections have shown effective progress in disarming its old enemy and neighbor, Iraq.

Syria is opposed to military action against Baghdad and is expected to vote against a second resolution that would set up a timetable for war.

"[W]hile inspectors are achieving tangible progress in implementing Security Council Resolution 1441, we believe that any individual or any state can ask why insist on adopting a new resolution allowing the use of military force as if war were the best and not the worst option," Farouk al-Shara, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic, said during March 7 meeting of the U.N. Security Council.