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17.
March 2003, 19:15, Swissinfo
Press denounces "Council of
War"
The Swiss press has criticised
Sunday's last-ditch talks in the Azores, setting the world a final
deadline over Iraq.
Editorials said the intention behind
the meeting of the "Council of War" was clearly to wage war against
Baghdad, at an enormous cost to Iraq and to world peace.
The German-language "Tages-Anzeiger"
said it was appropriate that the three leaders - President Bush, British
Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart, José Maria Aznar -
had decided to hold their crisis talks in the Azores.
The paper said the mid-Atlantic
islands were "a fitting symbol for the completely isolated foreign policy
of the US.
Setting the UN an ultimatum was just
a final hurdle that stood in the way of US "pressing on with its own
interests", the Tages-Anzeiger said.
The French-language "Le Temps" said
Sunday's talks marked the "end of hypocrisy". Washington wanted to go to
Baghdad in order to "correct its error of 1991" and impose a "radical new
order in Iraq".
"It's the start of a dangerous
adventure. its cost will be great," Le Temps concluded.
Deep divisions
The "Tribune de Genève" said it was
clear that there were deep divisions not only within the UN Security
Council but also among the US, Britain and Spain.
It said Washington was impatient to
launch its military campaign in Iraq, while Britain could not afford to do
so without the support of the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, Spain was
torn between its desire to wrap-up the Iraqi affair in the face of
mounting political and popular opposition.
The "Basler Zeitung" said Bush, Blair
and Aznar had lost all moral authority to wage war. They had chosen to
meet in the Azores because it was one of the few places on earth where
they could shun mass anti-war demonstrations.
The German-language tabloid, "Blick",
said the conflict that everyone dreaded was no longer avoidable. The
question was no longer whether there would be a war, but rather who would
take part, it said.
swissinfo, Vanessa
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