And in London, the response from Britain’s feisty press ranged from the front-page query in the left-leaning Daily Mirror tabloid–“Dodgy tapes, grainy videos, great rhetoric, but where’s the PROOF, Colin?”–to the editorial in the moderate Times, which robustly defended the speech. The U.S. secretary of State’s address, said The Times, was “a withering riposte to Iraq’s taunt that the United States has no proof it has hidden, and continues to hide illicit weapons of enormous destructive power.”
Despite his punchy delivery, Powell’s evidence doesn’t seem to have rallied much new support behind Washington. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says Tokyo would want another U.N. resolution before the United States decides to attack Iraq. Other key countries like France, Germany, Russia, China and Indonesia say they want further arms inspections rather than military action.
These divisions, too, were reflected in the variety of different responses to the Powell speech from international media. A sample of newspaper reaction from around the world:
GERMANY: “Hardly anyone disputes that Saddam is brutal and dangerous. Instead the conflict is over the question whether the costs of war–including civilian deaths and the costs of years of occupation–are in a reasonable relation to its benefits. This question even Powell could not answer. He has placed the members of the Security Council under higher pressure to act. He has not convinced them of the necessity and inevitability of war. Not yet.”
–Tagesspiegel (moderate Berlin daily newspaper)
FRANCE: “It remains to convince public opinion, which is for the most part hostile to war. That is the task that confronts Colin Powell. If he perhaps convinced the cattle-breeders of Minnesota, he has certainly left the European farmer doubtful. What does it matter? The assertion of American ’leadership’ makes a mockery of these differences. She justifies all crusades.”
–Le Figaro (right-wing Paris daily newspaper)
ISRAEL: “The defense establishment was pleased with Powell’s speech, with sources saying it more or less matched Israel’s own assessment of the situation there.”
–Ha’aretz (liberal daily newspaper)
IRAQ: “They were nothing but accusations and fabricated tape recordings. What he said was a smoke of lies aimed at blackmailing public opinion in order to find an excuse for a U.S. aggression against Iraq.”
–Al Qadissiya (Iraq’s official newspaper)
JORDAN: “Even if we give the United States the benefit of the doubt, these new elements did not amount to convincing evidence of Iraqi noncompliance, or that Iraq presents any real or imminent danger to any party.”
–Jordan Times
SAUDI ARABIA: “America wants to control oil resources because whoever controls those resources remains the most influential, and Iraq will be the first step in this hegemony.”
–Al Riyadh (daily newspaper)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: “The evidence, whether real or fabricated, only aims to sate those thirsty to demonstrate their military power and the technologically advanced American war machine.”
–Al Bayan (daily newspaper)
HONG KONG: “To the extent that Mr. Hussein finances, harbors, trains and arms international terrorist groups which carry out significant terrorist attacks on U.S. targets, Iraq is substantially involved in those attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Powell has now itemized Iraq’s ‘substantial involvement’ with international terrorism, including Al Qaeda.”
–South China Morning Post (daily newspaper)
PAKISTAN: “The response to the speech from members of the Security Council will be critically important. With the U.S. and Britain determined to attack Iraq regardless of what the Security Council decides, hopes for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis seem to be rapidly receding. This is an ominous development and comes despite a rising crescendo of voices calling for more time to be given to arms inspectors to complete their job.”
–Dawn (daily newspaper)
MIDEAST: “The greatest effect Powell could ever hope for now is for his show to throw doubts in the hearts and minds of ‘some Security Council members,’ so as to start seeing what the U.S.-U.K. see now, and agree to at least bless war, without necessarily joining the club.”
–Palestine Chronicle (Seattle-based online magazine)
BRAZIL: “Powell’s speech to the U.N. Security Council, heavy with pyrotechnical display of photos, videos and tape recordings, brought no new elements to justify making war against Iraq.”
–Folha de Sao Paulo (independent daily newspaper)
AUSTRALIA: “Colin Powell’s presentation to the United Nations Security Council provided a good deal of support to claims by the United States about Iraqi noncompliance, but not the killer punch to convince international opinion.”
–Sydney Morning Herald (moderate daily newspaper)
