French flip-flop on Iraq

Despite fierce opposition to war in Iraq, France may join the military coalition if Saddam Hussein unleashes chemical or biological weapons.

French ambassador Jean-David Levitte told CNN the use of weapons of mass destruction would "change completely the perception and the situation for us." He said the French military had equipment to fight "under these circumstances" and could join the coalition if forces came under such attack.

One appears likely as U.S. intelligence reports indicate Saddam Hussein's troops are armed with chemical munitions.

"The information is raw … and hard to confirm ... but we are seeing – using different methods – that Saddam Hussein has armed troops south of Baghdad with chemical weapons," Fox News quotes a senior Defense official as saying.

According to the Iraqi News Agency, Saddam Hussein admitted yesterday that Iraq once had weapons of mass destruction for the purpose of defending itself against Iran and Israel, but he claims it no longer has them.

France has repeatedly expressed opposition to the use of military force to disarm Iraq since the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in November for Resolution 1441 which called for "serious consequences" if Iraq failed to comply with U.N. demands.

The U.S. and UK blamed the French threat of veto yesterday in withdrawing its latest compromise resolution on the table at the council. The withdrawal prompted the White House to declare that the diplomatic window for Saddam had closed, and President Bush issued an ultimatum last night for Saddam and his sons to leave Iraq within 48 hours or face war.

Iraqi leadership soundly rejected the ultimatum today.

President Jacques Chirac remained resolute in his reaction to U.S. moves toward war.

"There is no justification for this unilateral resort to war," he said and re-emphasized he felt the U.N. weapons inspections process was working.

When asked to explain France's apparent turnaround on the issue, Levitte offered international policy.

"No army is allowed by treaties to use chemical and biological weapons. This is absolutely forbidden and if Saddam Hussein were to use these weapons then he would create a completely new situation for the whole world," he said.

Levitte said France wants the U.S. to participate in a Security Council resolution that would include humanitarian aid and assistance for a post-Saddam Iraq. A council meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced today that 30 nations have joined with the U.S. in a "coalition of the willing" to oust Hussein, and another 15 have privately promised their support behind the scenes.

The State Department released a list of the countries, which have pledged varying degrees of involvement. Japan is listed as a post-conflict member of the coalition.

"The overwhelming amount of combat will be provided by a small number of countries," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. "Other nations are free to contribute as they see fit."

The 30 coalition members consist of Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.