BY KRISTIN GAZLAY
The Associated Press
LONDON — Staunch allies such as Germany and Canada offered quick support for Wednesday's U.S.-British attack on Iraq, while Russia and China angrily condemned the airstrikes and France said it deplored “the grave human consequences that they could have for the Iraqi population.”
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, speaking in Madrid, Spain, condemned the use of force as “a violation of the United Nations charter.”
“We are going to call for the immediate cessation of this military action to create the conditions to proceed along the political path.”
China's U.N. Ambassador Qin Huasen was visibly angry when he emerged from an emergency meeting of the Security Council after being informed of the attack.
“There is absolutely no excuse or pretext to use force against Iraq,” he said.
Sweden's foreign minister, Anna Lindh, told the national Swedish news agency TT that her country deplored the attack and that the Security Council had been presented with a fait accompli.
“It would have been important if the Security Council had been able to act unanimously,” she said.
The German government noted, however, that the Iraqi leadership “had been warned” that the international community would have to act if it failed to cooperate fully with U.N. weapons inspectors.
“The federal government regrets that, in the face of the attitude of the Iraqi leadership, it had to come now to the use of military measures,” its statement said.
France added that it also “regrets that Iraqi leaders were unable to show proof of the spirit of complete cooperation” demanded by the Feb. 23 memorandum of understanding signed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraq's Tariq Aziz.
Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy said his government supported the airstrikes, adding that Canada had not been asked to contribute militarily.
“Saddam Hussein has brought this crisis on himself,” Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was noncommittal, saying, “Israel is outside the dispute, and in any case, will take care of defending itself if the need arises.”
Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nation, called on the United States and Iraq to demonstrate restraint.
“We call on the conflicting parties to settle their problem peacefully and through diplomatic ways,” said acting Foreign Ministry spokesman Imron Kotan.
People in Japan, Australia and New Zealand woke up today to the news of the strikes, carried live on TV and radio, and Japanese newspapers published extras.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka backed the United States and Britain: “We strongly demand that Iraq immediately and unconditionally implement the U.N. Security Council's resolutions.”
