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Mandela Praises UN, Condemns U.S. on Iraq Posted: Saturday, September 14, 2002 CAPE TOWN -- South African former president Nelson Mandela has praised UN peace efforts, but again criticized the Unites States' stance on a possible attack on Iraq, saying it would pose a threat to world peace. Speaking to reporters after a function to honor Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe late Thursday evening, Mandela said a planned attack would "introduce chaos in international relations". "That must be condemned in the strongest terms," the Sapa News Agency quoted him as saying. He added: "The message that is being sent out by the United States is that if you fear (a veto by) the United Nations... you do as you please." "In fact the United Nations has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations in bringing about peace." Asked whether the U.S. attitude was a threat to peace, Mandela replied: "Oh, there's no doubt." Mandela said in an interview made public Tuesday, that the United States posed a threat to world peace due to what he sees as a series of foreign policy mistakes made over the past several decades. "The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken," Mandela told Newsweek magazine. "If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace," he said, citing, as its worst move, U.S. "sabotage" of the UN decision over the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan.  Printer friendly version  Send page by E-Mail |