When asked about Delhi's position on the various proposals, officials of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs refrained from commenting; the reason for the silence being that India had no part to play in hammering out the resolution since the matter concerned the Security Council alone. From a position of merely supporting the UN role in defusing the crisis, India has now shifted to opposing US goals and proposed strategy in Iraq. India's disagreement with the Bush administration's approach on Iraq does not come as a surprise. Delhi has consistently expressed its opposition to international interference in the internal affairs of a country. It has also supported the pursuit of a diplomatic approach to ensure Iraq's full compliance with UN resolutions with respect to inspection of its suspected chemical and biological weapons facilities. It has opposed the use of force against Iraq to ensure compliance. In 1998, for instance, when the US and Britain launched air strikes on Iraq, India called for an immediate halt to the military operations.

In a statement of support to Baghdad, India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said this week that he hoped there would be no war in Iraq. India has consistently expressed its opposition to the unilateral use of force against Iraq and it has consistently called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis within the UN framework. In an interview with the Arab media late in August, Vajpayee was asked what he thought of President George W Bush's axis of evil definition and whether India would support US military action against Iraq to effect a regime change. He responded, "India is vitally interested in the peace and prosperity of the Gulf region and has, therefore, supported all efforts to defuse the crisis relating to Iraq. In that respect, India supports the resumption of diplomatic efforts under the auspices of the United Nations." India has kept a low profile on the Iraq crisis in recent weeks, refraining from commenting on the various proposals that were being considered by the Security Council.

It is unlikely that it will commit combat troops. Foreign Minister Phil Goff spelled out New Zealand's position during a 40-minute meeting yesterday with US charge d'affairs Phil Wall, second-in-charge at the American Embassy in Wellington. The meeting was held at Mr Wall's request as Washington sounds out about 50 countries on possible contributions to an American-led force. After the meeting, If you loved this informative article and you want to receive much more information regarding diyarbakır eskort bayan assure visit our web page. Mr Goff said Mr Wall had outlined contingency plans for action if Iraq did not comply with the requirements of the UN Security Council. For this reason and as a contingency against Iraqi refusal to comply, the United States is seeking possible contributions for military or humanitarian assistance if force is used against Iraq." Mr Goff told Mr Wall that New Zealand would consider calls for assistance if action against Iraq was UN-mandated and within international law. "However, I reiterated that these conditions needed to be met, and that New Zealand's strong view was that force should be used only as a last resort.

As the expedition moved out of the Hittite heartlands, we begin to see in Wrench's fieldbooks the beginnings of a new interest in the medieval architecture of the Syriac-speaking Christian communities. The first drawing to appear in his notes is a hastily-sketched plan of the early medieval Deyrulzafaran, "the saffron monastery," located outside of Mardin. Underneath he has copied the Syriac inscription that he found above the door. A few days later and a few pages further, we find a drawing of the late antique church of Mar Yakub in Nusaybin. When, in the following year, Wrench made his way back to Istanbul, he took a long detour through the Tur Abdin, the heartland of Syriac monasticism. The expedition frequently visited American missionaries along their route, celebrating Christmas in Mardin with the local mission of the American Board in Turkey. But as they pressed on across the steppes that today form the far northeastern corner of Syria, the strains of six months' steady travel began to show.

India's foreign policy establishment is said to be divided on the issue of Iraq. Some believe that with Bush set on ousting President Saddam Hussein through military strikes and in determining the nature of a post-Saddam dispensation, it would be in India's interest to just go along with the US now and gain a share in the spoils (reconstruction projects) as it has in Afghanistan. However, others believe that India does not stand to gain from an Iraqi invasion. The political upheaval and economic uncertainty it will engender across the Middle East will severely affect India. It could mean the return to India of millions of Indians working in the Middle East who are currently remitting around US$6 billion annually. Furthermore, the impact on the Indian economy will be severe given the fact that Arab oil accounts for almost two-thirds of India's crude imports. Indian officials are worried that Washington's current preoccupation with Iraq has distracted its attention away from the military operations against al-Qaeda.