 He spoke on behalf of the United Kingdom, United States, and Spain, and ended his statement by saying, “Given this situation, the co-sponsors have agreed that we will not pursue a vote on the UK/US/Spanish resolution in blue...The co-sponsors reserve their right to take their own steps to secure the disarmament of Iraq.”
On the same day, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced the decision to pull United Nations employees out of Iraq.The 156 inspectors and employees of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), were seen leaving their headquarters in Baghdad.On the evening of March 17, President Bush gave an address on live television explaining the current threat of Iraq's weapons, and saying, “America tried to work with the United Nations to address this threat because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully.