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Ratcheting up the rhetoric
By Wolf Blitzer
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration's public relations offensive for a possible war against Iraq is building dramatically -- even in the face of escalating opposition from some close allies, including France and Germany. At a memorial ceremony in Berlin today, German President Gerhard Schroeder said, "I have made it clear that on Germany's behalf, we can not agree to a legitimization of war." French President Jacques Chirac agreed. "That is exactly what I meant when referring to joint foreign policy." To back that up, France and Germany, members of NATO, have prevented the alliance from taking the steps necessary to prepare for war. The NATO Secretary-General, Lord George Robertson, is playing down the rift: "There is a disagreement on timing at the moment by small members of nations, but no disagreement on substance at all." Secretary of State Colin Powell, along with his British counterpart, Jack Straw, insists before going to war, they will assemble a strong coalition. At a joint news conference held today at the State Department, Sec. Powell said, "I don't think we'll have to worry about going it alone. I think that the case is clear." Straw made clear the importance of building a coalition. He told reporters, "What's at stake is the authority of the whole of the U.N." The president has started a new round of personal diplomacy to generate support -- beginning with a phone call to Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Other calls to world leaders are expected in the coming days. While the administration remains confident, it acknowledges that they may be unable to get everyone on board. "President Bush is confident that Europe will answer the call. It remains possible that France may not be on the line," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said today. As part of the new U.S. offensive, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz went public with a new charge. "Today, we know from multiple sources that Saddam has ordered that any scientist who cooperates during interviews will be killed as well as their families," he said in a speech delivered to the Council on Foreign Relations. Iraq claims it is cooperating, and has denied ordering its scientists not to talk. President Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice went to the pages of The New York Times. She wrote, "By both its actions and its inactions, Iraq is proving not that it is a nation bent on disarmament, but that it is a nation with something to hide. Iraq is still treating inspections as a game. It should know that time is running out." The administration's public relations campaign is expected to reach a climax next Tuesday when the President delivers his State of the Union Address.
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