ABC News Special Report - 2003-03-17 - 10:07 a.m. (E)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] We played

[0:01] >> We found the only tennis court.

[0:04] >> This is an ABC News special report.

[0:08] >> Good morning everybody. I'm Peter

[0:10] Jennings at ABC News headquarters. I

[0:11] want to take you immediately to the

[0:13] United Nations here in New York where

[0:14] the US ambassador to the UN John

[0:16] Negropanti is about to comment on the

[0:19] fact that US will withdraw the

[0:22] resolution in the security council

[0:24] >> since the council unanimously adopted

[0:26] resolution 1441

[0:30] >> which found Iraq in material breach and

[0:33] gave it a final opportunity

[0:36] to disarm or face serious consequences.

[0:41] The government of Iraq has clearly

[0:43] failed to comply.

[0:47] Our governments believe that through

[0:48] acts of omission and commission,

[0:52] Iraq is now in further material breach.

[0:57] We advocated a second resolution

[1:01] because a United Council would have

[1:04] shown it was intent on enforcing

[1:08] resolution 1441.

[1:10] and disarming Iraq.

[1:13] We bel believe that the vote would have

[1:17] been close.

[1:18] We regret that in the face of an

[1:21] explicit threat to veto by a permanent

[1:25] member, the vote counting became a

[1:28] secondary consideration. Thank you.

[1:31] >> We go on in.

[1:33] >> Well, we rushed on a bit there because

[1:34] we wanted you to hear this statement

[1:36] from John Negropandi, the US ambassador

[1:38] to the United Nations. And I think it's

[1:39] going to be a day like that because

[1:40] things are moving very quickly. Just

[1:42] briefly, the background of what you've

[1:44] heard over the last several days and

[1:46] almost a week now, there's been this big

[1:47] debate about whether a new resolution

[1:49] should be introduced to the United

[1:50] Nations authorizing the United States to

[1:52] use force against Iraq. It was a very

[1:54] hard time for the US to get a majority

[1:56] on the Security Council who would

[1:58] actually vote for it. and particularly

[1:59] when France the government of France

[2:01] said they would veto any resolution that

[2:03] would authorize using force right away

[2:06] without at least an extension of time.

[2:08] So this morning after that meeting in

[2:10] the Azors between the president of

[2:12] between the president the prime minister

[2:13] of France beg pardon the prime minister

[2:15] of Spain and the prime minister of

[2:17] Britain yesterday they have decided that

[2:19] to put that uh new resolution before the

[2:22] security council today might cause a lot

[2:24] of damage because they wouldn't

[2:25] necessarily have the votes and certainly

[2:27] France would veto it anyway. Now at the

[2:29] same time we are hearing from Washington

[2:31] that President Bush may speak to the

[2:32] nation tonight. There's an exodus out of

[2:35] Baghdad today. people of the

[2:36] non-governmental organizations,

[2:37] journalists, perhaps the UN inspectors

[2:39] beginning to move out. There's a great

[2:41] deal of tension on the battlefield edge

[2:43] this morning with, among other things,

[2:45] General William Wallace, Scott Wallace,

[2:48] the commander of the fifth corps, saying

[2:50] to his troops that the president is

[2:52] going to speak to the nation tonight.

[2:53] There is a great deal going on today.

[2:55] So, we will pop on from time to time to

[2:57] try to keep you a breast of what is

[2:59] happening. You can check with

[3:00] abcnews.com all the time. Both the

[3:04] British ambassador there, Jeremy

[3:06] Greentock and John Negroponti, the US

[3:08] ambassador, blamed the French in this

[3:10] case for holding over this potential

[3:13] resolution the possibility of a veto

[3:16] because the French are not interested in

[3:17] the moment at using force. I'm Peter

[3:19] Jennings at ABC News headquarters in New

[3:21] York.

[3:25] >> For continuing coverage of this story,

[3:27] stay with ABC News and abcnews.com.

[3:31] We now return to our regularly scheduled

[3:33] program already in progress.

[3:36] >> We just put all his paper money on the

[3:38] conveyor belt. It wasn't even in a money

[3:41] clip. So, it comes through the thing and

[3:44] IT'S ALL OVER THE THING.