AFTER two Cruise missile strikes Jon Iraq, President Clinton has declared "mission achieved" but denied Iraqi claims that a third missile attack was made yesterday on Baghdad.
At a press briefing in the Oval Office, Mr Clinton said that the missile strikes on southern Iraqi air defence installations on Tuesday had been successful. The targets were "either destroyed or sufficiently damaged so that we can say that our mission has been achieved."
In New York the UN Security Council failed to agree yesterday on a condemnation of Iraq. After a second day of negotiations on a British drafted resolution, the 15 members remained sharply divided over whether to refer to the US military actions against Baghdad.
Britain has steadfastly refused any reference to the US strikes in the text, which condemns the Iraqi incursion, on the ground that the object of the resolution is Iraq.
The Russian ambassador, Mr Sergei Lavrov, told reporters:
"We cannot support the latest version of the British draft as the concept is flawed when it ignores the origin of the current crisis," which he said was the factional, fighting between Kurdish groups.
The British draft "condemns the attacks by Iraqi armed forces against Arbil and other areas: which have created a dangerous new element of instability in the region." It demands the resumption by the Iraqi armed forces of their military positions prior to August 15th last.
But it deliberately omits any support for the US missile strikes. This is so that members such as France, Russia and China - which have expressed misgivings about the US action - could still support the resolution.
Russia submitted a draft statement to the council critical of the use of force but without mentioning the United States. The statement said that the Security Council "expects from all sides to exercise restraint and avoid in adequate steps including the use of all force that seriously delays the possibility of settlement of the conflict situation in the region, including that in Northern Iraq."
President Clinton has no misgivings about his ordering of missile strikes. He said yesterday that they have "changed the strategic situation, particularly in the" southern part of Iraq which Saddam used as a staging ground for his invasion of Kuwait."
As regards the situation in the north of Iraq which triggered the US attack, Mr Clinton said that "there has been a withdrawal of the forces, a dispersal of the forces, but it's too soon to say that this is permanent or that future action will not be taken."
According to an ABC poll, 79 per cent of Americans approve of the President's actions over Iraq and 16 per cent disapprove.
EU foreign ministers will consider the full implications of developments in Iraq at an informal meeting in Tralee, Co Kerry this weekend. The EU ministers are to hold informal discussions on a range of issues - including Iraq.
Yesterday in Dublin the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, reflected EU concern over the American action.
He said: "I believe the breach of the exclusion zone by Iraqi forces was wrong, that it represented something that should not shave happened, and was a breach' of UN resolutions.
"It is also my view that force, in circumstances like this, is not necessarily the best way of resolving the difficulty.
"I hope the parties to this conflict - particularly the Iraqis, who initially breached the exclusion zone - will recognise that the route of armed conflict is not a route that brings benefits toe anyone.