Washington: In a startling declaration, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer has said
that the United Nations is not the only source of international action and if the
world body failed in disarming Saddam Hussein the task would be completed by another
international organisation.
"As the President has said, if the United Nations will not disarm Saddam Hussein,
there will be another international organisation," Fleischer said at his daily
briefing on March 7.
"It will be a coalition of the willing that will be made up of numerous nations that
will disarm Saddam Hussein. Another group will be the source of international
action. It will be multilateral, it will be international, it just won't be the
United Nations," he said.
Fleischer recalled that this had happened before when the UN Security Council,
because of veto, was unable to reach an agreement over prevention of ethnic
cleansing in Serbia.
"That action was deemed appropriate from a moral, legal and worldwide point of view.
We hope that won't be the case this time," Fleischer said.
"The President is working hard to make sure that's not the case. But there is recent
precedent, from a moral point of view, and from a legal point of view, for military
action to be taken (without UN Security Council sanction). And the world is now
safer, and now many people are alive today as a result of that," he argued.
PTI
