The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Thursday aimed at getting troops and cash for Iraq, a diplomatic victory for the United States, which sought backing for its occupation.

The unanimous vote was uncertain until the last minute. In a surprising shift, France, Russia, China, Germany, which had opposed the war in Iraq, gave their support. Syria, the only Arab member on the council, then came on board.

With President Bush under pressure over the growing cost of the Iraqi operation in US lives and money, the resolution asks nations to aid the reconstruction.

It sets up a multinational force, under US leadership, to give political cover to nations reluctant to serve under the occupation. And it calls on Iraqi leaders to draw up a plan for a new constitution and elections by Dec. 15.

"If there ever was a time to help Iraq, it is now," US Ambassador John Negroponte told the council.

But pledges of aid were slow in coming, particularly among wealthy European nations. At a summit in Brussels, European leaders declined further aid after setting a modest US$232 million contribution from EU coffers for 2003-2004.

In a joint statement, France, Russia and Germany, said the resolution should have gone further in expanding the political role of the United Nations and accelerating the transfer of power to Iraq.

"In that context, the conditions are not created for us to envisage any military commitment and no further financial contributions beyond our present engagement." they said.

And Pakistan, considered a prime candidate for sending soldiers, declined to do so, saying the new multinational force created under the resolution was not distinct enough from occupation troops.

"Under these circumstances Pakistan will not be able to contribute troops for the multinational force in Iraq," its UN ambassador, Munir Akram, told the Security Council.

The resolution, which went through five revisions since August, almost failed to the get the minimum nine votes required for adoption. France, Germany and Russia proposed joint amendments, the main one asking for a timeline to end the occupation, which was rejected by Washington.

After intense negotiations led by Secretary of State Colin Powell this week, China and Russia were the first to signal they were open to more compromises, US officials said. Russia then pressured Germany, which in turn convinced France, diplomats said. 
Even if the Bush administration had received nine votes for adoption, a narrow victory would have been considered a political failure in recruiting support for US policies.

"We were looking for more than passage. We were looking for a solid statement from the entire international community and all of the members of the Security Council if possible," Powell said in Washington after the vote.

Powell said he did not expect the resolution to prompt a flood of foreign troops but he hoped for more generous contributions at a donors conference in Madrid on Oct. 23-24.

In Brussels, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, after conferring by telephone with French President Jacques Chirac and Putin, announced support of the three countries early on Thursday. "We agreed that the resolution is really an important step in the right direction," he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan nearly torpedoed the effort two weeks ago when he agreed with France and Germany in urging the United States to shift power within a few months to a provisional government.

The resolution calls on the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council to produce by Dec. 15 a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections, a process which could take several years. But it gives no date for a transfer of power as France and Germany originally wanted.

After the United States came back with some new concessions this week, Annan telephoned world leaders appealing for unity on the resolution, which does not give the world body a central role.

He said he was pleased the resolution did not force him to send back staff until safety conditions permitted. UN staff are still reeling from the Aug. 19 bombing of UN offices in Baghdad that killed 22 people.

(China Daily October 17, 2003)