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Bush Team Rejects U.N. Plan to Condemn Anthrax Attacks
NY Times ^ | 31 Oct 2001 | ELAINE SCIOLINO

Posted on 11/01/2001 9:55:12 AM PST by white trash redneck

November 1, 2001

DIPLOMACY

Bush Team Rejects U.N. Plan to Condemn Anthrax Attacks

By ELAINE SCIOLINO
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A Nation Challenged


WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 — The Bush administration has rejected a proposal by France to win Security Council condemnation of the anthrax attacks in the United States, senior administration and European officials said today.

The administration told the French government that a United Nations condemnation would be appropriate only if there was clear proof that the origin of the anthrax or the plot behind the outbreak was foreign, a senior administration official who opposed the move said.

"Let's assume this was the work of a bunch of right-wing nuts or a Unabomber kind of thing," the official said. "That would make it a domestic criminal matter. The Security Council just has no legitimate role in this."

The rejection came after a debate inside the State Department, with officials disagreeing on whether the anthrax attacks violate the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, administration officials said.

"The French told us this was a clear violation of the convention, but I don't know how it would be if it's a domestic nut case," said the official opposing the initiative.

But another senior administration official said, "I'm not going to deny that there were two schools of thought on this."

The Biological Weapons Convention, which 143 nations, including the United States, have ratified, prohibits the development, production and possession of biological weapons. But when that treaty was negotiated, it had no provision for verification, a major drawback since most of the nations suspected of making biological weapons have signed the accord.

The Bush administration has rejected a draft agreement supported by its European allies and a host of other countries that would have created new measures to monitor the ban. The administration argued that the agreement would have granted foreign inspectors too much access to American installations and companies, and that a nation determined to cheat would find a way to do so.

Much to the dismay of America's allies, the United States is now trying to introduce alternate ways of implementing the convention.

European officials called the administration's rejection of the French proposal condemning the anthrax outbreak shortsighted and a missed opportunity.

"This was the first time that a biological agent was used against a civilian population, and we felt that it was important at the very least that the international community say something about it," said one senior European official. "The goal was to reaffirm the value of the convention and assure solidarity. But the answer clearly was `No.' "

The resolution would have noted that the use of biological weapons under the Biological Weapons Convention was prohibited, and that the United States had the unilateral right of military self-defense against a biological weapons attack under the United Nations charter.

Experts have said that the United States, the former Soviet Union and Iraq are the only countries known to have made the dangerous, high- grade anthrax powder that was found in the office of the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle. But the techniques used in those programs are believed to be common enough that a well-trained scientist in a well- equipped private laboratory could have produced similar results.


TOPICS: Anthrax Scare; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthrax; un
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To: Shermy
What's VWRC?

Okay, you made me laugh there.

When the news about Clinton getting Lewinskys broke in the media, Hillary went on one of the morning television shows and said the whole story was nothing but a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, a group of horrible conservative persons who were out to get them because they were from Arkansas.

BTW, FreeRepublic is the center of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. And a lot of the Battle for Florida a year ago was run from FR. I guess someone should have told you before you enlistd in the VRWC, soldier.

; )
21 posted on 11/01/2001 10:28:43 AM PST by George W. Bush
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To: lady lawyer
The administration did exactly the right thing, whatever phraseology they used to sell their position to the left wing nuts running Europe.

"Whatever phraseology" does not include giving them more ammunition against American right wing nuts. They've dined out on Tim McVeigh for years as poster boy for American right-wing nuttiness. I wouldn't feed that propaganda monster without firm proof that we ourselves are guilty.

Why not say "thank you, no" without smearing our own people?

22 posted on 11/01/2001 10:29:03 AM PST by Ratatoskr
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To: MJY1288
Another instance where I read one of your posts and think "Exactly what I was thinking!!!"
23 posted on 11/01/2001 10:35:35 AM PST by lawgirl
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To: Dog Gone
If we find out it is from Iraq, we will deal with it, the U.N. has no jurisdiction in our affairs. They can have a meeting and draw up all the resolutions they want, but since we are not good enough to be on the Human Rights commission we don't need them to worry about our problems here.
24 posted on 11/01/2001 10:38:34 AM PST by MJY1288
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To: johnny7
An NY POST article today quotes administration sources talking about a left-wing pagan wicca group from Indianapolis.
25 posted on 11/01/2001 10:40:11 AM PST by The Old Hoosier
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To: white trash redneck
"Let's assume this was the work of a bunch of right-wing nuts or a Unabomber kind of thing," the official said. "That would make it a domestic criminal matter. The Security Council just has no legitimate role in this."

What the hell is wrong with this guy? All evidence points towards Islamic nuts, none towards right-wing nuts. Maybe we should assume this official is sending these letters? It makes about as much since? I think we have some people in the FBI and CIA who are left over from the Clintonista regime. They need a domestic threat so that they can scare congress into passing laws that allow them to keep an eye on us citizens. Time for Bush to clean house in both agencies. We have a real enemy, and it is not us.

26 posted on 11/01/2001 10:43:39 AM PST by monday
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To: The Old Hoosier
Now wait a minute, how can you say the wican group is left wing? By the time Hillary, the liberal presss and others get through with this, I am sure all reasonable Americans will understand that this was a right wing group of witches (discussed near Halloween, wink, wink) and that even though the article indicates similarity of letters sent to O'Reily, it really must have been by a right wing group who didn't think Bill was hard enough on the left wingers. (/sarcasm)

Seriously, I read the article and thought this was the work of a left wing group, but I am sure liberals read it and thought it obviously was the work of a right wing group.

27 posted on 11/01/2001 10:49:08 AM PST by Robert357
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To: Slim Pickens
I don't think VRWC folks would mailscud Ashcroft, Whitehouse, Supreme Court mail. Daschle maybe.
28 posted on 11/01/2001 10:57:00 AM PST by epluribus_2
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To: lady lawyer
I agree with your point, but I suspect the Bushies may have done the right thing for the wrong reason. Instead of this drivel about domestic right wing extremists, they should have (im)politely told the UN to butt out.
29 posted on 11/01/2001 11:02:21 AM PST by white trash redneck
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To: white trash redneck
What I can't figure out is why the national media haven't picked up on the New Jersey story about the two Arab men being questioned by the INS in connection with the anthrax letters. The unnamed "official" doesn't even seem to be aware of it or - at any rate - to take it seriously.
30 posted on 11/01/2001 11:07:43 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: epluribus_2
One such VRWC nut bombed the Murrah Federal Building. I'm not sure that all these groups care whether a Pubbie or a Dem is at the helm...
31 posted on 11/01/2001 11:11:44 AM PST by Slim Pickens
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To: one_particular_harbour
Something else is up.

Here's what's up. If this turns out to be locals such as right-wing extremists, this is going to be a big backlash worldwide against the US "Americans" killing their own. This is going to be a huge PR disaster. So Bush is minimizing the damage as much as possible by keeping the idea out there that it could really be locals after all.

32 posted on 11/01/2001 11:16:53 AM PST by jlogajan
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To: jlogajan
So Bush is minimizing the damage as much as possible by keeping the idea out there that it could really be locals after all.

That's a clever thought, though it sounds a little too Clintonian for Bush. I hope you're wrong about it being domestic.

33 posted on 11/01/2001 12:17:12 PM PST by white trash redneck
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To: white trash redneck
I hope you're wrong about it being domestic.

Well, I certainly don't want it to be locals either. But what can ya do?

34 posted on 11/01/2001 12:20:18 PM PST by jlogajan
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To: browardchad
"This was the first time that a biological agent was used against a civilian population, and we felt that it was important at the very least that the international community say something about it," said one senior European official.

The first time if you discount the smallpox blankets handed out to Native Americans... and by Europeans no less.

35 posted on 11/05/2001 10:35:48 PM PST by jonestownpunchdrunk1
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To: white trash redneck
The resolution would have noted that the use of biological weapons under the Biological Weapons Convention was prohibited, and that the United States had the unilateral right of military self-defense against a biological weapons attack under the United Nations charter.

I hate to break it to the international community, but the US has a unilateral right to self-defense whether the UN agrees with it or not. And the Bush administration was absolutely correct in telling them 'No,' because we do not want the UN to send inspectors from terrorist countries to snoop around in our facilities. If they want to come to the US and look at anything, let them try to defeat us first, rather than see ourselves behave as if we have surrendered to them on the field of battle.

36 posted on 11/05/2001 10:59:26 PM PST by piasa
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To: jlogajan
That's a clever thought, though it sounds a little too Clintonian for Bush. I hope you're wrong about it being domestic.

I would really love for it to be home-grown, because the most likely foreign supplier, Saddam Hussein, has the facilities to make weaponized anthrax by the ton, and it may be here by the ton. This stuff is worse than nuclear fallout -- much worse. When I read that the 9/11 hijackers were researching "wind patterns," it gives me the willies. We could be talking about something continental in scale. Certainly, it would be in character for the sociopath who booby-trapped all the oil wells in Kuwait to plot a grand finale on those lines. Better hope it's just some kook in a log cabin, eh?

37 posted on 11/05/2001 11:11:41 PM PST by Clinton's a rapist
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To: white trash redneck
European officials called the administration's rejection of the French proposal condemning the anthrax outbreak shortsighted and a missed opportunity.

YEA A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO GET THEIR UNITED NATIONS LOVING FOOT IN THE DOOR OF UNITED STATES POLICY

THE FU****** NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME JACK BOOTED STORM TROPPERS WITH A UNITED NATIONS LOGO GET THE U.S. OUT OF THE U.N. NOW....

38 posted on 11/05/2001 11:19:27 PM PST by ATOMIC_PUNK
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