THE US: The US is stepping up its war plans against Iraq, following the vote by Congress on Friday authorising President Bush to use military force. The Pentagon is planning to begin vaccinating up to half a million troops against smallpox within six weeks, and Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld has ordered military commanders to revise their war strategy so that combat actions can begin at short notice.
The US administration is now debating how to administer an occupied Iraq. Pentagon officials have put forward a plan for military rule, modelled on the US occupation of Japan after the second World War. Under the plan a US military commander, most likely Gen Tommy Franks, would run the country for a year while weapons of mass destruction were destroyed and a stable government put in place.
The Democratic Party split on the Congressional resolution, which authorises Mr Bush to use the US armed forces to defend US national security against the "continuing threat posed by Iraq", and to enforce UN resolutions.
The vote in the Senate was 77-23 in favour with 29 Democrats for and 21 against. Senator Hillary Clinton and presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards voted Yes but fellow-liberals Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator Patrick Leahy voted No. Only one Republican, Senator Lincoln Chaffee, voted against giving Mr Bush war powers. The debate was framed by mid-term elections in November, with many Democrats eager not to appear unpatriotic, and to move on to domestic issues. Administration officials say that the Congressional resolution will force the hand of the UN Security Council, as the US now has legal authority for war. Congress has spoken clearly to the UN Security Council, President Bush said on Saturday: "Inaction is not an option, disarmament is a must." The Security Council is to debate Iraq on Wednesday at the insistence of non-aligned UN members.
During the debate, Ireland, one of 10 elected Security Council members, will set out its views publicly for the first time. The US is expected to circulate a draft resolution on Iraq by the end of the week. US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell is pressing for an automatic trigger to authorise force if Iraq did not comply with new inspection powers. Baghdad appeared to relent on UN inspection demands in a letter on Saturday but State Department spokeswoman Ms Jo-Anne Prokopowicz said, "Iraq continues to want to play word games and not comply."
Michael Jansen adds:
The Saudi Defence Minister, Prince Sultan, has said the kingdom would not be bound by any Security Council resolution on Iraq if it jeopardised the country's national interests.
This statement seems to contradict an earlier assertion by the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, that Saudi Arabia would go along with a new Security Council resolution mandating the use of force against Iraq if this was in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for individual and collective self-defence. Prince Sultan's remarks could indicate that the kingdom will not permit US use of its air bases for an attack on Iraq.
Analysts consider Prince Sultan's declaration highly significant because he is second in line to the throne and the most influential member of the powerful pro-US faction of the royal family.