Germany, France Draw Up New Line Of Defense

With the United States and Britain ready to present a second U.N. resolution authorizing a war on Iraq, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder remained steadfast on Monday in his opposition to the idea.

"We along with France think that Resolution 1441 offers plenty of avenues to support the work of the inspectors," Schröder said.

The chancellor met French President Jacques Chirac in Berlin on Monday evening to plot their next steps in their bid to prevent the United States from launching a war against the regime of Saddam Hussein. Their reaction to the introduction of the second U.N. resolution was high on the agenda, since the United States and Britain have announced they will introduce a resolution on Monday that warns of "serious consequences."

U.S. President George W. Bush told U.S. governors on Monday that the resolution "spells out what the world has witnessed the last months. The Iraq regime has not disarmed. The Iraqi regime is not disarming as required by last fall's unanimous vote of the Security Council."

The resolution is expected to be accompanied by a deadline for a vote. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that vote was expected by mid-March.

Extra time for inspectors urged

In a press conference after the French and German heads of state met on Monday, President Jacques Chirac said that the two countries saw no reason for setting out on a course leading to war.

"We see no reason in this context to change our logic, which is a logic of peace, and to switch to a logic of war," Chirac told reporters.

Germany and France plan to counter the new resolution with new proposals calling for continued weapons inspections, The Associated Press reported. Schröder and Chirac were to discuss the proposals during talks Monday in Berlin, AP reported.

Before the meeting with Schröder, Chirac stepped up the pressure on the United States. The French president rejected a second resolution as "neither useful nor necessary," according to his spokeswoman. As an alternative, France plans to submit a memorandum on how to boost the arms inspection program, which it sees as the best way to neutralize Baghdad's weapons program.

That program is facing a major test on Saturday. The chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has ordered Saddam to start destroying his al-Samoud 2 missiles by then because he says they violate a U.N. range limit imposed after the 1991 Gulf War. The limit is 150 kilometers, or 93 miles.

Foreign ministers at odds

In Europe, countries remained divided Monday over the issue despite a declaration issued last week by the 15 leaders of European Union countries in an attempt to settle the differences. "War is not inevitable," the statement said. "Force should be used only as a last resort."

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Joschka Fischer of Germany and Jack Straw of Britain continued the argument being waged by their bosses. "Right now, the issue is improving the work if the inspectors," Fischer said. But such a position was unacceptable to Straw. Speaking of Saddam, he said; "He has had 12 years. Enough is enough."

Troops head to Gulf region

As the debate continued, the British military moved another step closer in its preparation for war. The United Kingdom began sending 12,000 troops from their bases in northern Germany by charter planes to the Gulf region on Monday. The troops shipped off their heavy equipment in mid-January. This equipment includes 120 battle tanks and 2,700 other vehicles.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also took steps to protect Turkey, the alliance member that shares a 218-mile border with Iraq. The alliance began preparing to move airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft from Geilenkirchen, Germany, to the Turkish air base Konya. The planes will watch over Turkish airspace if a war starts.