Annan protests Fallujah strategy
By Nicholas Kralev
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who recently angered
the United States by calling the war in Iraq "illegal," has weighed in
again with a letter to President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warning against attacking Fallujah.
"The threat or actual use of force
not only risks deepening the sense of alienation of certain communities,
but would also reinforce perceptions among the Iraqi population of a continued
military occupation," Mr. Annan wrote in the letter.
All three of the letter's recipients
said it was not for Mr. Annan — but for the Iraqi government — to decide
whether and when an offensive was necessary against the terrorist stronghold
west of Baghdad.
Mr. Annan discussed his concerns with
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Sunday, State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher told reporters.
"In this regard, frankly, we differ,"
Mr. Boucher said.
"The situation in Fallujah remains
difficult and unstable," he said. "Restoration of peace in Fallujah and
other towns is very important to [the Iraqis] and to us, and it needs to
be done soon for the sake of the people who live there, who deserve a chance
to participate in the political process."
Mr. Allawi, who was in Brussels yesterday
for a meeting with leaders of the European Union, was more blunt.
"It was a confused letter, really,
and message that I got from him. It's not clear to me, and we are now seeking
clarification," Mr. Allawi told the British Broadcasting Corp.
"I don't know what he means by 'not
to attack' or 'to attack.' What are the substitutes? I don't know what
pressure he has to bear on the insurgents," Mr. Allawi said of Mr. Annan.
"If he can stop the insurgents from inflicting damage and killing Iraqis,
then he is welcome."
In London, the Foreign Office also
was dismissive of Mr. Annan's warning.
"He's allowed to say what he wants.
But nevertheless we listen to the Iraqi government in this respect. Fallujah
is a matter for the government of Iraq," one official said.
"It is easy for people not in Iraq
to underestimate the overwhelming concern that the Iraqis themselves have
for their security," he said. "So you cannot have an area as big as Fallujah
which is allowed to be a base for terrorism."
Mr. Annan's letter to the three leaders,
first reported in the Los Angeles Times, came as the U.S. military continued
daily air strikes against militant targets in Fallujah in anticipation
of an offensive against the rebel-held town.
Although the United Nations has been
called on to play a major role in the elections slated for late January,
Mr. Annan has been reluctant to send to Iraq more than a limited number
of U.N. staffers because of the dangerous security situation there.
"I and all my colleagues at the United
Nations Secretariat want to help," he said. "But we need a conducive environment
if elections are to produce a positive effect."
Fallujah is believed to be an operating
base for Islamist terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi and his followers, who have
claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, assassinations, kidnappings
and beheadings.
Mr. Annan has been a critic of the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq from the beginning.
In September, he went so far as to
call it "illegal" — a claim Mr. Powell speedily rejected in an interview
with The Washington Times.
U.N. officials yesterday confirmed
that Mr. Annan sent the letter on Sunday, but they appeared frustrated
that it had been leaked.
"The secretary-general has a pretty
wide-ranging correspondence with world leaders and he regards such correspondence
as privileged," U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran
Prendergast said in New York.
Not all of Iraq's leaders agree with
the prime minister.
"Using force that kills civilians
on a large scale is a mistake. The logic of occupation must end," Deputy
Foreign Minister Hamid al-Bayati said on Thursday.
• This article is based in part on wire service
reports.
We consider this as a historic document that we reproduce for
scientific reasons.
|