Bush continues on the road to war in Iraq, seeking last-minute UN approval

White House officials said that they will force a Security Council vote on Friday, whether or not they have the necessary votes to pass a resolution that would authorize an attack on Iraq.

The Administration is confident that there is still time to win 9 out of the 15 votes, and is currently engaged in an intensive lobbying campaign to try to sway undecided nations. According to a story that ran last week in the British newspaper The Observer, that effort includes a secret "dirty tricks" campaign that involves intercepting the phone calls and e-mails of the UN delegates of these nations to monitor their positions and hopefully sway their votes.

In the meantime, the Bush Administration is conditionally supporting a British compromise that would extend the deadline for Saddam until as late as March 24. The current deadline is March 17. The revised resolution would require Hussein to fulfill six tests, a televised admission of his possession of weapons of mass destruction and a vow to destroy them.

According to diplomats, these concessions are merely a tool to gauge the potential support of wavering nations, and if not successful, will most likely be removed. American officials said that any vote would be on the resolution co-sponsored by the Spanish and British that was introduced last week, without the additions. Officials said they will probably not know the undecided countries' positions until Friday.

Right now, France and Russia, two of the five veto-power holding members of the council are opposed to the resolution. Britain, Spain and Bulgaria are supporting the U.S., and Angola, Chile, Mexico, Cameroon and Guinea remain undecided. Russian and French officials said that the revised resolution would not impact their standing

The American ambassador in Moscow was quoted in a Russian newspaper as saying that a Russian veto would mean serious consequences for the nation "at least in the short term." He said that our relationship with the Russians in terms of space travel, fighting terrorism and energy cooperation would most likely be affected.

The Bush Administration maintains its willingness to attack without UN cooperation. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that American troops would proceed even without the support of British forces, although he quickly qualified the statement by ensuring the collaboration in any war in the region.

The Pentagon is continuing to dispatch troops to the Middle East, where General Tommy Franks said they are "ready" and "capable."

"There is no doubt we will prevail," he said. According to the AP, the total of U.S. forces in or preparing to go to the Persian Gulf is approaching 3,000.
 

15-year old girl missing for nine months found alive

A teenage girl classified as missing since June was found alive Wednesday in a Salt Lake City suburb. Authorities were confident that the girl had been kidnapped, and when found was with a man described as a "drifter" that had been hired by the girl's family to work on the roof of their home.

Fifteen-year old Elizabeth Smart disappeared from her bedroom this summer during a rash of attacks and disappearances of children.

Smart was found walking with the suspect, Brian Mitchell and a woman, all of whom were wearing wigs when they encountered authorities.

A sketch of Mitchell, who goes by the name Emmanuel, was released by the Smart family at a news conference a month ago in which the family criticized the authorities lack of attention to his possible role in their daughter's disappearance. For several months, the top suspect according to the police was Richard Ricci, a handyman who had worked for the family in the past and who died at the end of August while serving prison time for violation of parole.
 

Will someone tell Congress French fries aren't really from France?

In a show of disapproval of France's anti-war stance, the snack once known as "French fries" will be renamed "Freedom fries" within our nation's capitol, the BBC reported. The move follows that of Cubbie's, a diner in North Carolina whose owner Neal Rowland said that his menu change was well received by customers. Rowland said he was inspired by similar moves during World War I that renamed sauerkraut "liberty cabbage" and frankfurters "hot dogs." The House of Representatives' cafeterias followed suit. According to Republican representative Bob Ney, the change in name signifies an "effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France."