ITALY/US: US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld yesterday said that "momentum" was building towards a possible attack on Iraq, following years of failed diplomacy and ineffectual sanctions, writes Paddy Agnew, in Rome
Mr Rumsfeld was speaking with reporters in Rome, following a meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, at the start of a brief European tour intended to build consensus for US-led military intervention in Iraq.
"The world feels a sense of momentum. It's been a long road, 12 years long. We've seen enormous efforts by the international community of a diplomatic nature and they have failed . . . Not only did those fail [but also\] economic sanctions and limited military action have failed to get him [Saddam Hussein\] to co-operate. The patience of the world is nearing its end," he said.
He appreciated concerns over the use of force but argued that "the risk of not acting may be vastly greater than the risk of acting". In particular, Mr Rumsfeld recalled President Saddam's use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds in 1988 when up to 5,000 people are believed to have died in an attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, an attack carried out as a reprisal against the Kurds who had supported Iran during the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s.
Time is of the essence, he said. "The urgency comes with the reality that every week and month that goes by, Saddam's chemical and biological weapons programmes are more advanced and the risk of their use becomes greater."
On speculation that Iraqi field commanders have been authorised to use chemical weapons, Mr Rumsfeld issued a tough warning to President Saddam: "We are sending very clear messages to people around him that they would be well advised not to use those weapons . . . In the event they do, they will wish they hadn't."
Mr Berlusconi has been hawkish and outspoken in his support of US policy on Iraq, telling parliament on Thursday that his government favoured a military intervention that would help Iraq become a "true and real democracy". Mr Rumsfeld yesterday thanked Mr Berlusconi for his support both on Iraq and also on the fight against international terrorism.
After meeting Mr Berlusconi, Mr Rumsfeld then travelled north to meet troops at the US Air Force Base at Aviano, close to the Italian border with Slovenia.
Addressing hundreds of US troops, he said growing numbers of allies were ready to join "a coalition of the willing" and disarm President Saddam by force, if necessary. "It is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months," he told troops and air crews gathered in a cavernous hangar.
"You are what stands between freedom and fear . . . the hopes of mankind depend on your success," he said, with a massive stars and stripes flag hanging behind the podium.
Whilst the hawks, in the persons of Messrs Rumsfeld and Berlusconi, were gathering on one side of the Tiber yesterday morning, the doves, in the shape of Pope John Paul II and the German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, were meeting on the other side. During a Vatican audience with Mr Fischer, the Pope repeated his call for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Last night, Mr Rumsfeld travelled on to Munich where he is today due to address a security conference.
However, he caused controversy in Germany even before his arrival over his remark that the country's stance against military action in Iraq put it on a par with Libya and Cuba.
"Some countries have nominated themselves as countries that are opposed . . . it just happens that Germany, Libya and Cuba are three of those countries that have declared themselves opposed," Mr Rumsfeld said.
"I can't imagine why this would cause a stir because it was those countries themselves that made the statement and the case of one country, Germany, ran a political campaign on it," he added.