http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/27/china.iraq/index.html China deals U.S. blow over Iraq August 27, 2002 Posted: 11:38 PM EDT (0338 GMT) Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (r) told visiting Iraqi counterpart Naji Sabri (l) on Tuesday that using force or threats of force could not solve the Iraqi problem By Willy Wo-Lap Lam CNN Senior China Analyst (CNN) -- In a further blow to Washington's effort to get global support for a possible war on Iraq, Beijing has indicated it is against the use of force to resolve Baghdad's differences with the West. Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told visiting Iraqi counterpart Naji Sabri on Tuesday that using force or threats of force could not solve the Iraqi problem and "would only cause regional tension and instability." The official China News Service on Wednesday quoted Tang as saying questions about Iraq should only be resolved within United Nations mechanisms, and "only political and diplomatic methods should be used." Tang added Beijing was concerned about the suffering of the Iraqi people who had lived under conditions of Western embargoes for a long time. However, Tang also asked Sabri to cooperate with UN-arranged inspections of weapons development programs in Iraq. Diplomatic analysts in Beijing said having acquiesced in Washington's anti-terrorist campaign last year, the Chinese leadership was anxious to reassure the Muslim and Arab world of its friendship and support. U.S. negotiations At the same time, Beijing is playing the Arab or Iraq card in its negotiations with the U.S. Given Beijing's good ties with the Arab world and its permanent membership in the UN Security Council, Washington requires Chinese cooperation in a possible war against Iraq. The question of fighting terrorism, including Iraq, will figure prominently in the summit to take place between Presidents Jiang Zemin and George W. Bush in Texas in late October. The diplomatic analysts said Jiang might be more accommodating on the Iraq front if Washington agreed to play ball on the Taiwan issue. Earlier this week, the U.S. made a concession to China when it labeled the Uighur separatists in Xinjiang as a terrorist organization. The Chinese are lobbying very hard for the U.S. to stop selling sophisticated weapons to Taiwan, whose leadership has been vocal in seeking quasi-statehood for the island.
Wow...this is a major blow. Until now, I assumed we had China's support outright! I assumed we would even have some Red Chinese Army fellas on the frontlines with us! Turns out China and France don't agree with us....yawn.
For a moment, when I read the title of this thread, I thought there were Chinese drug dealers selling our cocaine in an airplane over Baghdad.
Personally I think all this is talk about invading Iraq is just saber rattling. I really don't think that the U.S. is going to do it. However, it is imperative that we <i>convince</i> the rest of the world (especially Iraq) that we'll do it. And they have to really believe we will do it which may mean massing troops. We can't tell China or other Mid-East countries that we are just bluffing as that could get back to Saddam. Bush is the perfect president to pull this off as well. He is developing the reputation of doing what he thinks is best for the U.S. regardless of world opinion (a good thing, IMO) plus he has got the "finish what the father started" vibe going. I think the short term goal is not to topple Saddam but to get the inspectors back in with a regime changed via revolution (or whatever) sometime in the future (with subtle cooperation from other Mid-East countries who really don't like Saddam either). The Democrats (and Republicans) who are screaming about how we shouldn't do this and that Bush had better get Congressional approval are playing perfectly into this scenario as it lends credibility to the threat. There are just too many negatives and not enough positives as I see it to actually attack Iraq. Something has to be done but invasion just isn't it. Of course, I could be wrong! We'll just have to wait and see.
I wonder if they plan to use "only politcal and diplomatic methods via UN mechanisms" to re-aquire Taiwan...
Shouldn't this be in the why the whole world hates us thread? What arrogance! Screw the rest of the world. Rumsfeld and Bush are willing to go it alone without allies.**** Let's see who is against our invasion of Iraq? China No Russia No Saudia Arabia No ** Kuwait No The Egyptians say all the Arabs are* All of Europe* Tony Blair wants to but with opinion polls roughtly two to one against he can't be counted on. *** Israel Yes. Can anyone cite a country clearly for this exept for Israel? *Egypt ** Saudi Arabia ***British public opinion ****Bush and Rummy the Lone Rangers
We have been amassing our troops. All the serious fighting in Afghanistan has died down, but coalition troops from US and Germany are still coming. If we wanted to go at it alone, this would be a solid contingency plan.
