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Sun 16 Feb, 2003 03:26 pm
Condo Rice said on Fox "The coalition of the willing is preparing"
"We are in a period now, a diplomatic window, in which we should be discussing how the Security Council can best carry out its obligations.
But my question is:Which country will support a war?
The way things look now France, Russia and China are opposing a war and will use their veto to block a second resolution.
Which country is prepared to assist the US to attack Iraq without that second resolution? only the UK? And will Blair really go that far and risk his entire future? IMHO this will mean the end of his political career. Italy is drifting towards the "no war" camp and other countries like Spain and Australia learned this weekend that the public opnion isn't waiting for an adventure in Iraq. Who is still with the US? Even without a second resolution
Well, according to the New York Times this past week, we've got Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland. GB, except that it looks like Tony Blair is in trouble. Spain, except that over 80% of the people are against this, and Aznar is not a favorite politician. Turkey, except that today they are backing off somewhat. In this hemisphere, so far, nobody.
However, if, by coalition of the willing you mean Cheny, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Perle, Wolfewitz, Negroponte - there they are, although I don't think they'll contribute money, space, or actual service.
there's italy's berlusconi government, too, except like aznar's in spain, it faces an overwhlmingly disapproving public opinion.
the "letter of the eight" (then nine) of european leaders urging support for the US included also the portuguese, danish, czech and hungarian governments, later the slovaks too.
of course that was before the blix report, the row within the eu (and the whispered rumor that some eu member states want memberships blocked for applicant countries supporting the US in this), and before the mass demonstrations.
in the security council last time i read, bush only had blair, aznar and the bulgarians with him.
Well regarding Berlusconi, ..., he is not the type of person, I'd like to have political power:
Quote:Berlusconi censured by UN over bribes case
By Peter Popham in Rome
18 February 2003
The efforts of Silvio Berlusconi to keep his head above a sea of legal troubles suffered another setback yesterday when a blistering United Nations report on the behaviour of the Italian Prime Minister was leaked to Reuters news agency.
Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, criticised Mr Berlusconi for trying to exploit loopholes in the law to gain advantage in criminal trials where he is the defendant. "It is not proper for the Prime Minister, being the chief executive of the government, to be seen to be taking advantage of procedural weakness," he wrote.
Last month Mr Berlusconi's attempt to get a case in which he is accused of bribing a judge moved to a friendly bench was rejected by the Supreme Court.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=379377
there's an "interactive presentation" of who is with the US on this and why at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,902780,00.html
(damn that was hard to find back)
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