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__ _Nation & World Dispute clouds Clinton's U.N. speech m by Tom Raum Associated Press United Nations — President Clinton can claim a broad international consen sus on peacekeeping in Kosovo and, now, East Timor. But divisions over Iraq and the U.S. refusal to pay its debts are com plicating his annual U.N. speech. Clinton will have a tough time per suading the international body to main tain decade-long sanctions on Iraq un less Baghdad agrees to allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country, U.S. officials concede. Tie president was addressing the 54th *' neral Assembly Tuesday, and Iraq was a top agenda item. Our goal is re-establishing the con sensus that existed on the Security Coun cil” following Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Monday night in advance of Clinton’s speech. But the Security Council remains deadlocked on Imq, with the United States mid Britain alone among the five per manent members in demanding that any easing of sanctions be conditional. Russia, China and France, the other three veto-wielding members, have ex pressed sympathy with Baghdad’s call for mi immediate easing of the sanctions. The United Slates has lessened clout because it owes the United Nations more than $1 billion mid thus far hasn’t been able to pay the arrears. If a sizable installment isn’t made by year’s end, the United Suites could be in the embarrassing position of losing its vote in the General Assembly. Its Secu rity Council vote wouldn’t be affected. The Clinton administration has pledged to pay the arrears, some of it dat ing to the 1980s, but has been blocked repeatedly by the GOP-led Congress. The most recent dispute is over ef forts by Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N. J., mid other House conservatives to link the payment of arrears to restrictions on fumillf nl*mmn/r nr/wrr«itllC ■ihmu/l .J t..*CT I-O Oil the issue of Iraq, the United States hits signaled willingness to consider some x (ising of sanctions to allow more food, medicine ;uid certain otlicr goods to reach the long-suffering Iraqis. But it ;md Britain insist that Iraq al low weapons inspections suspended in kite 1998 to be resumed as a precondi tion. “This is an extraordinarily difficult issue,” said a senior administration offi cial who briefed reporters on the condi tion of anonymity. “The consensus has broken down.” Russia’s foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said Monday during a joint news con ference with Albright that, despite U.S. Russian differences on Iraq, “All mem bers of the Security Council have an interest in finding a collective solution. ” - Representatives of the permanent live Security Council members met on Monday in an effort to craft a new U.N. Iraq policy. But they appeared to make little headway. Albright, meanwhile, met in her ho tel suite with 16 anti-Saddam activists, most living in Western exile. “The Baghdad regime has tried hard to silence the Iraqi people and to hide the evidence of its crimes against them,” Albright said in a statement. “This coura geous group, visiting New York for the opening of the General Assembly, has shown that Saddam has failed.” Riytidh al-Yawcr, ;ut olTicial with the London-based Iraqi National Congress, ' lierwards prttised Albright for “her ef forts to compel the Iraqi regime to ;ibidc by United Nations Security Council res olutions that protect the people of Iraq.” Specifically, al-Yawcr s;iid in a state ment. the opposition leaders told Albright they support lifting present caps on the so-called oil-for-food program to allow Iraq to export more of its oil. But they insist the United Nations assure that oil revenues are being used for food and medicine, not for Iraqi’s war-making ca pabilities. That basically is the position of the United States, which backs a British Dulch proposal to ease the oil-for-food limits while retaining strict controls over Iraq's ability to import goods ;utd reim posing a system of weapons inspections. One official stud Clinton will report to Congress in the next few days that lie’s ready to begin releasing $97 million that Congress earmarked nearly a year ago for supporting efforts within Iraq to topple Saddam. Prosecutors seek death penalty in dragging case by C. Bryson Hull Associated Press Bryan, Tex. —A psychiatrist testified today that a white supremacist convict ed in the dragging death of a black man has failed to leant from past mistakes and remains a “substantial risk” to society. Prosecutors seeking the death penal ty for Lawrence Russell Brewer rested their case in the punishment phase of his capital murder trial after Dr. Edward Gripon testified today. Jurats, rejecting the defendant’s plead ings that he is not a racist and did not plan James Byrd Jr.’s death, returned a guilty verdict Monday for the June 7, 1998, killing. Defense attorneys hope to persuade the jury not to send Brewer, 32, to join his former fellow prison inmate, 24-year old John William King, on death row. King was convicted in February. Gripon testified that, based on Brew er’s criminal history and a dysfunctional childhood, along with a review of his writ ings and an interview a week ago, “his life has not been one that’s had positive aspects.” He also described Brewer as antiso cial and a person who didn’t learn from past mistakes. “Past behavior appears to be a sig nificant indicator of future behavior,” Gripon said. After the guilty verdict Monday, rel atives of Byrd hugged law enforcement officers outside the courtroom and await ed the penalty phase to begin. “Whatever they come up with, we will accept that, of course,” said Byrd’s sister, Mary Verrett. “I want to see tire ultimate penalty.” Brewer showed no emotion as the ju ry of 11 whites and one Hispanic found him guilty. Prosecutors said they believe Brew er, along with King and Shawn A. Berry, 24, who is awaiting trial, killed Byrd to promote their fledgling white su premacist otganization, the Confederate Knights of America, and initiate Berry into the group. Brewer testified last week that he was with King and Berry when Byrd, 49, was chained by the ankles to the bumper of Beny’s pickup and dragged for three miles. Teens conspirators released Schools^j^^^ Violence^ Staff Reports Associated Press Port Huron, Mioh. — Three teen agers charged with plotting a massacre at their middle school were freed from cus tody Tuesday under a rule restricting their pretrial confinement. St. Clair County Judge James Adair ordered the boys released. Prosecutor El wood Dowd said a state court-rule bars juveniles awaiting trial as adults from be ing held for more than 91 days. The boys are charged with conspir acy to commit murder, punishable by life in prison. Juslin, 14, ;md Jedaiah Zin/.o, 15, are charged as adults, while 13-year old Daniel Fick is ch;uged as a juvenile. The boys, who had been held for 133 days, will await their Nov. 16 trial date under 24-hour parental supervision, the Times Herald reported. The boys are accused of master minding a plot to kill students and teach ers at Holland Woods Middle School. They were iirrested in mid-May af ter classmates told administrators they overhead conversations about commit ting a massacre bigger tlian the April killing spree at Columbine High School in Lit tleton, Colo., in which 15 people died. * The boys have been expelled from the Port Huron Area School District and are prohibited from going back to school or attending ;uiy school functions. I People will do crazy I I things to WIN I $25,000!