Iraq Vows Not to Abide by Any New U.N. Vote Limiting Agreement to Existing Terms Suggests Baghdad By Rajiv Chandrasekaran Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, September 22, 2002; Page A28
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 21 -- Iraq said today that it would not abide by any new U.N. Security Council resolution that differed from the country's prior agreements with the world body. The announcement suggested that Baghdad would refuse to comply with weapons inspections if the council authorized the United States and other nations to use military force against Iraq. "The American officials are trying, according to the media, to issue new, bad resolutions from the Security Council," the government said in a statement read on state-run Baghdad radio. "Iraq declares that it will not cooperate with any new resolution that contradicts what has been agreed upon with the [U.N.] secretary general." The announcement said top Iraqi leaders made the decision during a meeting chaired by President Saddam Hussein. Iraq said on Monday that it would accept the unconditional return of U.N. weapons inspectors, who were authorized under the terms of the 1991 Persian Gulf War cease-fire agreement to search for weapons of mass destruction. The inspectors left Iraq in 1998 after a dispute over the facilities they could visit. Today's statement suggests that offer would be rescinded in the event of a new resolution. The announcement also appeared to be designed to pressure Russia, China and France -- which have veto power on the Security Council -- to oppose the Bush administration's effort to pass a new resolution permitting military action if Hussein fails to comply with existing council resolutions mandating weapons inspections and other actions by the Iraqi government. All three nations have voiced skepticism about the need for a new resolution. At the White House, Sean McCormack, a National Security Council spokesman, said Iraq's position that it will not comply with future resolutions is "very disappointing," the Associated Press reported. "We are working very hard within the international community and specifically in the United Nations to address in an effective way the issue of Iraqi noncompliance," he said. Iraq's state-run media did not provide any interpretation of the announcement, and Iraqi officials were not immediately available for comment. Hussein, in a letter read to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, declared that Iraq "is clear of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons." He claimed the United States had fabricated charges that his government was secretly building weapons of mass destruction. The chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has said some of his deputies could arrive here by Oct. 15. � 2002 The Washington Post Company ===== ---------------------------------------------------------- John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ba'atha delenda est! - Freedom is Not Free __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
