UN arms search proceeds in Iraq

Arms inspections continue in Iraq as the global community chimes in on the importance of waiting to wage war until all other options have been exhausted. “As far as we’re concerned, war always means failure. Everything must be done to avoid war,” said French President Jacques Chirac. “Germany and France have the same judgement on this crisis.”Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schrder gave a joint news conference yesterday, while at ceremonies celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ylyse Treaty of French-German cooperation. Tuesday, Schrder issued a strong statement against a war while at a rally for his party. “Don’t expect Germany to approve a resolution legitimizing war — don’t expect it,” Schrder said. “In the crisis involving terrorism, Iraq and North Korea, our peoples can count on the governments of Germany and France to join forces to preserve peace, avoid war and ensure people’s security.”Europeans were not the only ones to speak strongly against the war. Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts warned against a military strike that would “feed a rising tide of anti-Americanism overseas and strain diplomatic ties,” he said.”Surely, we can have effective relationships with other nations without adopting a chip-on-the-shoulder foreign policy, a my-way-or-the-highway policy that makes all our goals in the world more difficult to achieve,” Kennedy said in a speech delivered to the National Press Club Tuesday evening.Regardless of national and international objection, the National Guard and Reserve have activated the largest number of troops since the massive call-up that followed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said a Pentagon official Wednesday. The Pentagon released a statement this week saying that the Army, Navy and Marines combined to call more than 20,000 Reserve and Guard troops to active duty.Even though many Americans are being called into active duty, a majority could not point out on a map where troops are sent. A November study by the National Geographic Society showed that only 13 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 could find Iraq on a global map. In an informal survey of ten students, UR faired far better, with 90 percent being able to identify Iraq on a similar map to the one used in the National Geographic Society poll.