U.S., France Focus Intense Lobbying on Undecided Nations

	U.S., France Focus Intense Lobbying on Undecided Nations         Monday, March 10, 2003 UNITED NATIONS  — Days away from a U.N. vote that could lead to war in Iraq, a handful of undecided Security Council members are the focus of intense lobbying by opposing camps led by the United States and France.    Top Bush administration officials worked the phones Sunday, seeking support for a March 17 ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to disarm or face war. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin flew to Africa to persuade Angola, Guinea and Cameroon to reject the deadline. A vote on the new resolution could come as early as Tuesday, though U.S. diplomats said they may need another day to continue seeking support. The Security Council is bitterly divided over the newly revised draft resolution that would set the ultimatum. It is cosponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain -- and strongly opposed by France, Russia, China and Germany. The opponents argue that U.N. weapons inspections are showing results and should be strengthened to peacefully disarm Iraq. As the showdown nears, both camps are counting votes. To be adopted by the 15-nation Security Council, the resolution needs nine votes in favor and no veto by a permanent member -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain. Lobbying efforts are focused on the undecided nations among the 10 elected members who serve two-year terms -- Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, Cameroon, Angola and Guinea. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was within "striking distance" of the nine "yes" votes. But he conceded on Fox News Sunday that France appeared prepared to veto the resolution. Powell spoke amid indications that Cameroon, a former French colony, would support the resolution. U.S. diplomats said they were concentrating on Angola, Guinea and Chile. The foreign minister of Guinea will visit administration officials this week in Washington. U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on ABC's This Week that she or Powell might try to lobby leaders in person. "It may well be necessary to do some travel. We'll see." Rice also suggested that the Bush administration might offer financial aid to key nations in exchange for support, saying "We're talking to people about their interests." On Monday, a front-page editorial in the influential Iraqi newspaper Babil urged Russia, China and France to veto the U.S. war resolution and said the world would be watching "peace-loving nations clinging to international law" when the draft is debated. "The logic of justice and law should rule the Security Council, not bloodthirsty whims for a group of adventurers in Washington," said the editorial in Babil, which is owned by Saddam's son Odai. In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair, who faces intense opposition at home for his strong support of the U.S. campaign against Saddam, lobbied for the resolution in a phone call to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who said every effort must be made to avoid war. Beijing, whose trade relationship with Washington is crucial to its economy, has refused to say whether it would veto the U.S.-British proposal to set the March 17 deadline. France has repeatedly said that the United States will not get nine "yes" votes, but de Villepin's last-minute Africa lobbying blitz suggested the French were concerned about the numbers. French President Jacques Chirac talked late Sunday to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who along with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged to try to block any resolution authorizing force against Iraq. Chirac got support Sunday from Schroeder for the leaders of Security Council nations to fly to New York for the vote -- despite Powell's dismissal of the idea last week as unnecessary. "France will not allow a resolution to pass that authorizes the automatic use of force," de Villepin said before leaving Paris. But some observers said that despite such words, Paris would be hesitant to block a resolution if it has broad backing. At the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, joked with the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Yuri Ushakov. "I won't veto you if you don't veto me," Negroponte told Ushakov, who laughed. Nations considered key swing votes, such as Mexico and Pakistan, sought extra days to negotiate a deadline beyond the March 17 date proposed by the Bush administration. But Powell said on a cable news program that "We have no plans to change that date." President Bush has said the United States is prepared to forcefully disarm Iraq without Security Council approval. But U.N. support would give the war international legitimacy and guarantee that members of the organization share in the costs of rebuilding Iraq. Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Maher, said a high-level Arab delegation will travel to Baghdad within two days. Maher was part of an Arab League ministerial delegation that met Thursday with Secretary-General Kofi Annan. According to diplomats, Annan told the ministers they should tell Saddam that he must do something drastic to avoid war. At the same time, a new diplomatic effort backed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and aimed at forcing a revolt in Iraq or coaxing Saddam into exile was quietly picking up steam through Muslim channels. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud said in remarks published Sunday that the quickest way to resolve the Iraq crisis was for Saddam to step down.