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Report
Says Iraq Robbed U.S. Of Pretext For Attack
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| Saddam conveyed a new
initiative to Mussa
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BAGHDAD, Jan. 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - While proposing a new initiative to the United Nations and Arab states, demonstrating "flexibility and wisdom", Iraq has robbed the United States of any pretext to attack the Arab state, news agencies reported Monday, January 21, 2002.
"Given the combination of flexibility and wisdom shown by Iraq's leadership ... there is no longer any justification for the Bush administration's threats against our country," Iraqi daily newspaper,
Babel, which is run by President Saddam Hussein's elder son, Uday, said Monday.
The newspaper was referring to messages which Saddam asked Arab League Secretary General, Amr Mussa, during a meeting Saturday to convey to U.N. chief, Kofi Annan, and Arab leaders, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Babel said nothing about the content of the messages, which coincide with a warning by U.S. President, George W. Bush, that he would "deal with (Saddam) at the appropriate time" unless he allowed U.N. weapons inspectors back into Iraq.
Mussa said after talks in Baghdad that the Iraqi leader had asked him to convey the new diplomatic initiative. He declined to give details, only saying that it was "very important" and he might reveal more shortly, reported BBC’s online news service Monday.
President Bush has, a week earlier, warned the Iraqi leader he would have to face the consequences if he did not allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country.
In Riyadh, a Saudi newspaper hoped Monday a new Iraqi initiative to return to the Arab fold would bear fruit.
"We hope the Iraqi regime is serious this time when it hints to a desire to return to the Arab fold,” said Okaz, a weekly which, while not state-owned, generally reflects government thinking. “We also desire this but it cannot be through more tension, provocation and threats towards neighbouring states."
Iraq, suffering a choking economic blockade since the 1991 Gulf War, is widely seen as a potential target of a future phase of the U.S.-led so-called “war on terror” launched in Afghanistan in October in the aftermath of the deadly September 11 attacks on the United States.
On the Arab front, Baghdad has recently taken a conciliatory line with its Gulf War Arab foes, multiplying overtures to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and lobbying for the restoration of Arab solidarity ahead of an Arab summit slated for March in Beirut.
"We have managed to defuse the bombs which the U.S. administration sought to blow up, and it (Washington) no longer has a pretext (to take military action against Iraq) except the refrain about the return of the spy teams," said
Babel.
Baghdad has accused the inspectors of spying and rejected their return, insisting that it has fulfilled its disarmament obligations under relevant U.N. resolutions.
“Even where (the inspectors' return) is concerned, we are trying to marginalize (this issue) and thwart those championing it,”
Babel said without elaborating on Baghdad's stand on the weapons teams.
"The president has asked me to convey a certain stance and certain points within the context of the current and expected developments," Mussa said after completing a two-day visit to Iraq.
"The subject is very important and I may be able to speak about it in the future," he added, BBC reported.
By seeking to mend fences with its Arab neighbors, Iraq has shown to be "the first to eliminate difficulties and do its utmost in order to overcome obstacles," the paper added.
In another separate related development, a Lebanese envoy arrived Monday in Baghdad carrying an invitation to the Iraqi president for the upcoming Arab summit in Beirut, AFP reported.
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) said Minister of State, Talal Arslan, was received by Iraqi Foreign Minister, Naji Sabri, who said Baghdad backed holding the summit "as planned" at the end of March in Beirut.
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