Britain, US to Give Saddam Ultimatum to Disarm: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 10, 2003

Britain, US to Give Saddam Ultimatum to Disarm: Report

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Britain and the United States are planning to give Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours to step down or face war if the UN arms inspectors' report on Feb. 14 concludes that he still refuses to disarm fully, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

"The ultimatum would form the basis of a long-waited second resolution, which could be put before the UN Security Council by next weekend," the paper said.

"The phrasing of the new, deliberately concise UN resolution would deny Saddam a fresh chance to say that he will comply with Security demands," it added.

Earlier reports quoted US officials as saying that the deadline would be just long enough for Iraq's Arab neighbors to make a last effort to persuade Saddam to leave the country or for a coup to take place.

It was reported that the resolution would declare that Saddam is in material breach of UN resolutions, which authorizes the use of all necessary means to disarm him.

The paper also quoted a senior UN Security Council diplomat as saying that Britain would put forward the resolution because Washington "does not want to be seen to need it."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the staunchest US ally who is urging a second resolution that would ratify a US-led war against Iraq, has expressed his confidence that he would win further UN approval.

The new resolution would require the support of nine of the 15 Security Council members, providing that there was no veto form France, China or Russia, the three veto-wielding permanent members of the council who favor giving inspectors more time.

Britain and the United States, who have vowed to disarm Saddam by force if necessary, said earlier that they did not expect unanimous backing, emphasizing that they would go to war with Iraq even without a second resolution authorizing action.

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