Saddam Hussein should be set a March 17th deadline to comply with UN demands on disarmament or face the prospect of military action, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw argued today.
Mr Straw told the UN Security Council in New York that he was tabling an amendment to the draft resolution proposed jointly with the United States and Spain which, if adopted, would give Iraq a "further period" to comply with the earlier resolution 1441.
The amendment proposed that unless the Security Council decided by March 17th that Iraq had taken its "final opportunity" to disarm, then serious consequences would follow.
The purpose was to gain support from undecided members of the 15-nation Security Council who have grave misgivings about voting for immediate warfare.
Mr Straw's comments followed the latest report by UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix, in which he said that Iraq has carried out a "substantial measure of disarmament" but has not provided the "immediate" cooperation required by UN resolution 1441.
But even before Mr Straw spoke, the idea of a deadline had been rejected by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who told the Security Council:
"We cannot accept an ultimatum as long as inspectors are reporting cooperation."
He said a deadline would be "a pretext for war".
"France will not allow a resolution to pass that authorises the automatic use of force," he said.