U.S. Says Olympic Truce Not First Priority

As U.S. forces continued to prepare Tuesday for a possible airstrike against Iraq, the United States was reminded of an “Olympic truce” it endorsed last year at the United Nations.

In December, the U.S. voted for a resolution in the General Assembly that supported a truce “calling for all hostilities to cease during the Games” in Nagano, Japan, from Feb. 7-22. The resolution, similar to measures adopted in 1993 and ‘95, is not binding on any country.

International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch expressed “hope that the Olympic truce will be observed during the Nagano Games.” But State Department spokesman James Foley responded, “We don’t have timelines or deadlines.

“We respect the call for peace connected with the Olympics,” Foley said, “but we are working at the same time with friends and allies to ensure Iraq’s compliance with its obligations under mandatory U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“Obtaining such compliance and reducing the threat posed by Iraq to international security is our first priority.”

The United States and Britain are considering a military attack against Iraq in an effort to force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to cooperate fully with U.N. arms inspectors who are trying to track down and eliminate Baghdad’s weapons of mass destruction.