Schroeder: war not justified
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said today that the threat posed by Iraq does not justify a war.
“Does the threat posed by the Iraqi dictator justify a war, which is sure to kill thousands of innocent children, women and men? My answer in this case was and is: No!” he told the ARD TV network.
Schroeder said the UN weapons inspectors were keeping the Iraqi threat in check, and renewed his call that the inspections should be given more time.
This opinion is shared by the majority of people in the world and of the members of the UN Security Council, he said.
Nonetheless, “I have my doubts whether peace will get a chance in the coming hours,” Schroeder said.
“Whatever happens in the coming days or even weeks, you can be sure that my government will pursue even the smallest chance for peace.”
Germany, along with France and Russia, opposes military action and resisted a proposed second Anglo-American resolution at the UN Security Council that would have set Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a short deadline to disarm or face war.
