INTERVIEW WITH JOSCHKA FISCHER
GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

August 10, 2002

Excerpts

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The domestic Iraqi opposition has just declared its support in Washington for an operation against the regime of Saddam Hussein. Is this operation imminent?

What is important is that US President George W. Bush has made it clear that he will not act without the allies. Given that such a decision could have the widest foreign policy impact for the United States since the Vietnam war, this is a message we are glad to hear. Of course, the United States has the military means to defeat Saddam on its own, but the crucial question is whether it is also prepared to assist the necessary process of creating a peaceful Iraqi civil society over a number of years. And this will be necessary after Saddam if the region is not to descend into chaos.

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What has changed European policy? Saddam Hussein continues to threaten the region with weapons of mass destruction.

What is clear is that the pressure must be kept up on Saddam. We will see what happens in the negotiations with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, in Baghdad – and if they are successful the weapons inspections will begin again. Following this course is the European route that I recommend. In addition to that, we need progress in the Middle East. If that can be achieved then we will be able to defuse the other conflicts as well. The United States has a key role in the Middle East conflict. And not just there: we need America in the Middle East, we need America in the conflict between India and Pakistan and we need America in fending off terrorism and for boosting the world economy. In spite of all the current differences of opinion, anti-Americanism would therefore be totally inappropriate.

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