UNITED NATIONS — U.N. inspectors have not found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and are slowly gaining Baghdad’s grudging cooperation, top weapons inspectors said Friday in a measured report that derailed U.S. efforts to broaden support for war.
The inspectors also said they still cannot account for 1,000 tons of chemical weapons, and an exasperated Secretary of State Colin Powell warned members of the U.N. Security Council that Saddam Hussein was playing “tricks” on them.
But the chief inspectors’ dispassionate report rallied anti-war forces on the council and deepened fractures between the United States and several close allies, led by France, on the eve of weekend anti-war protests across Europe.
“In this temple of the United Nations, we are the guardians of an ideal, the guardians of a conscience,” said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who led the Russians, Chinese and others in opposing military action so long as inspections hold promise of disarming Iraq peacefully.
A majority of the 15-member council called for more inspections, and criticism of the U.S.-British position produced several bursts of applause, a rare event in the council chamber that violated protocol but revealed the depth of sentiment.
Only the British and Spanish supported the U.S. view that Saddam’s failure to comply with U.N. disarmament mandates will soon require a U.N. decision on whether to disarm him by military invasion.
By the end of the busy and discordant day, which also included a late two-hour closed Security Council session, Powell said he would not immediately press for a new U.N. resolution authorizing military action.
Arms inspectors are scheduled to report again to the Security Council in early March.
At about the same time, the United States and Britain will be ready to launch an attack on Iraq, with or without new U.N. authorization. Together both nations are assembling about 200,000 troops and massive war equipment in the Persian Gulf region.
Powell told Knight Ridder late Friday that U.N. diplomacy must come to a conclusion soon. “I don’t think that point is too far off in the distance,” he said.
During the Security Council session, one of the most weighty in recent history, chief inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei said that 115 inspectors have examined more than 300 sites and found no evidence of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
“The results to date have been consistent with Iraqi declarations,” Blix said.
Representatives of France, Russia and China said war at this time was not justified. All three hold veto power on the council.
“The onerous responsibility and immense honor we have must lead us to give priority to disarmament through peace,” said de Villepin, the French foreign minister.
Said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov:
“There is movement, movement in the right direction, and we cannot ignore that. Force can be resorted to, but only when all other remedies have been exhausted. As the debate shows today, we have not yet reached that point.”