Interview on Al-Jazeera by Secretary [Of State] Colin L. Powell, Washington, DC, November 8, 2002

U.S.Department of State

MS. RAMAHI: Good evening to you, Mr. Secretary. After weeks of deliberations, and you have managed to get to a resolution.

SECRETARY POWELL: Yes. I am very pleased that we were able to achieve a unanimous vote on a resolution this afternoon.

MS. RAMAHI: What are the kinds of negotiations that went on between you and the French and the Russians, in particular, to get to this resolution in the end?

SECRETARY POWELL: We worked very closely with the French and the Russians and all of the other members of the Security Council in reconciling different points of view and different positions that were held. I think the Russians and the French were anxious to make sure that the United States didn’t have what they called "triggers" in the resolution that would automatically lead to conflict.

We took their concerns very much to heart, and in a spirit of openness and trying to solve a problem—and the problem was Iraq’s violation of previous resolutions—how to put together a solid resolution with a good inspection regime, a resolution that would have consequences if Iraq continued to violate this resolution, as well as others—and we were able to reach an agreement.

I think that it is an agreement that shows that the international community is unified in demanding that Iraq do what Iraq should have done long ago: stop trying to develop weapons of mass destruction that could be used against people in the region; use that money they have, that treasure they have, that comes from oil, use all of the intelligence capability of the Iraqi people, their skills, their experience, to make products for peace, not weapons for war.

And we hope now the Iraqis will understand that a better future awaits them if they will comply with the terms of this resolution.

MS. RAMAHI: Before talking about consequences, and severe ones, for that matter, that we hear some officials are talking about, threatening to use force by one side and automatically—this is the United States—this has pushed Russia and France to stop their objection to the proposed resolution.

Is this true, in your opinion, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY POWELL: No, not at all. What we succeeded in doing is getting all 15 members of the Security Council together behind a single resolution which says Iraq has violated previous resolutions let us put in place a strong inspection team with a strong mandate, and let us go in and see if Iraq now is finally willing to cooperate, willing to destroy these weapons of mass destruction; and if it is not willing to destroy these weapons of mass destruction, then the Security Council has the responsibility to assemble again and decide what consequences are appropriate; and the United States retains its option to act if the Security Council doesn’t act.

But this resolution should be seen not as a resolution for war, but as a resolution for purpose: to remove dangerous weapons from the region; to stop Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime from developing the kinds of weapons that they have used against their own people and they have used against neighbors, in fact, against Iran, missiles that have been fired against Saudi Arabia. It is to bring an end to this development of weapons of mass destruction and to show the way to a better life for the Iraqi people.

MS. RAMAHI: The question which we find very pressing, Mr. Secretary, if Iraq really agreed and cooperated with the inspectors and got rid of its weapons, will, in the United States, you stop talking about changing regime in Iraq, then?

SECRETARY POWELL: If the Iraqi regime got rid of these weapons of mass destruction and were fully cooperating with the inspectors, then, in effect, it has changed its policies; it is a changed regime.

The reason for regime change in the beginning, in 1998, under the previous American Presidential administration, was because Iraq would not disarm, it would not comply with the resolutions. If it complies with those disarmament resolutions, in effect, it has adopted new policies, which suggest a change in the thinking in Baghdad and a changed regime.

MS. RAMAHI: Mr. Colin Powell, thank you very much, indeed, for joining our program to you, sir. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much. Ramadan Karim.

MS. RAMAHI: Ramadan Karim to you, too, sir. Thank you.

[End]

Released on November 8, 2002 by the U.S. Department of State, http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2002/15034.htm