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U.S. has a "solid basis" for claiming Iraq has banned weapons, says Fleischer
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WASHINGTON,
December 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Bush administration
is insisting that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction but there were
indications Friday, December 6, that many of Washington's allies are
unenthusiastic to the prospect of military action against Baghdad.
Washington
has a "solid basis" for claiming Iraq has banned weapons,
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday, December 5.
He
cited U.S. intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein lies when he
denies having prohibited missile technology and chemical, biological or
nuclear weapons programs, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Fleischer
refused to elaborate on what Washington knows, but did say U.S.
officials would not make those assertions "as plainly and bluntly
as they have ... if it was not the truth."
President
George W. Bush himself said only it was up to Saddam whether the United
States and Iraq go to war.
Asked
what would trigger a U.S. attack, Bush replied: "That's a question
that you should ask Saddam Hussein ... the question is whether or not he
chooses to disarm. And we hope he does."
Under
U.S. pressure, the U.N. Security Council on Friday, November 8, issued a
resolution demanding that Iraq come clean on its weapons program.
The
resolution set a December 8 deadline for full Iraqi disclosure, but
Baghdad has promised to provide a declaration a day earlier, making it
understood it will confirm it has no biological, chemical or nuclear
weapons.
Officials
in Baghdad were putting the final touches to the declaration on Friday
as U.N. arms experts, who resumed inspections on November 27, were
taking a break on the second day of Eid-ul-Fitr marking the end of the
Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The
huge document, in both English and Arabic, will be handed to the U.N. in
Baghdad on Saturday, December 6, and flown to U.N. headquarters in New
York via the inspectors' rear base in Cyprus.
It
will be submitted amid signs that weeks of U.S. efforts to muster help
for an eventual war with Baghdad have produced only a lukewarm response
across the world.
On
Thursday, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein struck a conciliatory note by
saying he was seizing the chance offered by resumed arms inspections.
Speaking
to top aides in front of television cameras, Saddam replied to Arab and
world capitals that have for weeks been urging him to seize "the
last chance" provided by the international community for Iraq to
avert a U.S.-led strike.
Although
arms inspections will not find anything in Iraq, Washington, using its
spies in the country, will find another excuse to attack Iraq, he added.
He
portrayed the November 27 resumption of arms inspections after a
four-year hiatus as an "opportunity," saying the important
thing was to "work to keep our people out of harm's way."
Saddam
refrained from issuing threats, denouncing "arrogant U.S.
despotism" only once and making a vague reference to "a
reaction worthy of our people" should the process come unstuck.
The
remarks were the first in public by the Iraqi leader in around a
fortnight which has seen the resumption of no-notice U.N. arms
inspections of suspected weapons sites.
The
visits, not least that to one of Saddam's palaces, have sparked
criticism by the Iraqi president's aides.
Vice
President Taha Yassin Ramadan on Wednesday, December 4, branded the
inspectors "spies in the pay of the CIA and the Mossad" -- a
reference to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Israel's spy
service -- and charged that they had come to facilitate a U.S. attack on
Iraq.
Ramadan
renewed Iraqi criticism over the inspection of the al-Sejud presidential
compound in Baghdad Tuesday, December 3.
If
the inspectors "had had the slightest good manners they would not
have done it," he said.
General
Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate,
had earlier accused the inspectors of "provocative" behavior
aimed at hurting "Iraq's honor."
The
warnings touched on two pillars of the Iraqi regime: internal security
and the president's image.
As
was the case during previous arms inspections that lasted from 1991 to
1998, Iraqi officials fear that the inspectors' current mission will be
used as a smokescreen to infiltrate agents with the task of pinpointing
the regime's weaknesses, contacting any underground opposition networks
and funding groups that could carry out acts of sabotage.
In
a related development, U.S. officials say they are satisfied with the
results of their soundings of some 50 countries about contributing to a
war against Saddam if he fails to scrap his alleged prohibited arsenal.
"If
it is necessary to use force we are going to have the world with
us," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Wednesday,
December 4, after talks with NATO leaders in Brussels.
But
a survey of potential coalition partners shows only Britain eager to
sign up for a major role.
Turkey,
a key player in any move against neighboring Iraq, provided a striking
case in point for the Americans.
With
the Turkish press reporting that the Bush administration wants to base
some 100,000 U.S. soldiers there and use Turkey's air bases and ports,
the United States has gone all out to woo Ankara, dangling the prospect
of billions of dollars of aid and support for European Union membership.
But
when Wolfowitz and State Department number three Marc Grossman came
calling on Ankara this week, they heard that any major new U.S. troop
deployment in Turkey was unlikely and the use of airbases still
undecided.
Other
NATO allies also kept their options open, including Germany, which will
allow the use of its bases and airspace but will not take part in any
offensive.
Italy,
Denmark, Norway and Canada insist any use of force requires a new U.N.
resolution.
French
Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said unilateral U.S. action would
be seen as "a strike by the Western world at the Arab world, and
feed a resurgence in terrorism."
But
French military sources said some of the country's special forces, naval
and airborne troops, and foreign legionnaires were training for possible
deployment in Iraq.
Russia,
which also stresses the need to work within the United Nations, declined
a U.S. offer to discuss a possible joint military operation, according
to the ITAR-TASS news agency.
China
voiced expectations Friday that U.N. weapons inspectors would make a
"fair and accurate" report on the Iraqi operation and refused
to speculate whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"The
U.N. has already resumed weapons inspections in Iraq, up to now the
inspections are going relatively smoothly," the foreign ministry
said in a statement.
"The
Chinese side expects a fair and accurate conclusion may be drawn from
the inspections on whether Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.
"This
will create conditions for the Iraqi question to be resolved politically
within the framework of the United Nations," it said.
China
has long called for a peaceful and diplomatic settlement to the Iraqi
issue and has refrained from commenting on specifics, while insisting
any action against Iraq should be approved by the U.N. Security Council.
Greece
opposes any invasion, even if the Security Council gives the green
light.
Egypt
and Jordan, two of Washington's main allies in the Middle East, likewise
want nothing to do with a war.
Pakistan
says it has too much on its plate to participate in a drive on Baghdad
after playing a major role in the Afghan conflict.
Australia,
which sent some 150 special forces, air tanker and fighter support to
Afghanistan, is ready to do the same for Iraq but says it cannot divert
too many troops from its home-front battle against terrorism.
The
aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman Thursday, December 5, left Norfolk,
Virginia, for the Mediterranean, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said.
The
move would put as many as four U.S. aircraft carriers within proximity
of the Gulf by early January if hostilities break out with Iraq, U.S.
defense officials said.
