IRAQ: President Chirac of France has said that the United Nations should consider two resolutions on Iraq, one with a tight deadline for returning arms inspectors and a second on possible military action if Baghdad refuses.
Mr Chirac told the New York Times he wanted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to be replaced but opposed any attack to oust him as a slippery slope towards chaos in world affairs.
He kept open the issue of whether France would join any UN-backed military action, adding the international community needed solid proof that Baghdad was developing weapons of mass destruction and it did not have any such proof right now.
Mr Chirac said he discussed the deadline idea with British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair last week and added: "It's a question of one, two or three weeks, very quick." "There must be a Security Council resolution for the return of the inspectors . . . Then if the inspectors cannot return, there should be a second resolution in the Security Council to say whether there is reason or not to intervene," Mr Chirac said.
US President Bush has been lobbying the four other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, including France, to approve a bid to overthrow Saddam but Washington has indicated it could go it alone if they do not.
Mr Chirac, who stands between Mr Blair's leaning towards a military intervention and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's flat refusal, said France would wait for the second Security Council resolution before deciding whether to join an attack.
"Everything will depend on the nature of the resolution," he said, according to the French text of the interview issued by his office. "Nothing is impossible, if it is decided by the international community on the basis of indisputable proof. For the moment, we have neither proof nor decisions."
Mr Chirac was firmly opposed to any unilateral US military attack on Iraq, warning it would be "extraordinarily dangerous" and could lead to chaos in international affairs.
"I don't need to tell you that I condemn the regime in Iraq, naturally," he said. "But a few principles and a little order are needed to run the affairs of the world. If we go down this road, where are we going?" he asked. "I am totally against unilateralism in the modern world. As soon as one nation claims the right to take preventive action, other countries will naturally do the same," he said.
"What would you say in the entirely hypothetical event that China wanted to take pre-emptive action against Taiwan, saying that Taiwan was a threat to it? How would the Americans, the Europeans and others react?" he asked.
Mr Chirac denied that France was lining up with its traditional partner Germany against a duo of Mr Blair and President Bush over the question of whether to intervene or not. - (Reuters)