-Caveat Lector- http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,5239946%255E401,00.html
I won't abandon Iraq: Saddam 07oct02 IRAQI President Saddam Hussein has vowed never to abandon Iraq and the defence of its independence. In comments broadcast on state television, Saddam said it was impossible for him to "renounce the mission of defending the independence of Iraq and leave it a prey to foreign powers". "We have accepted (this mission) with joy, and it is impossible to renounce it and allow the outside world to govern us," he said in a meeting with Defence Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmad. Earlier, Baghdad's top diplomat at the United Nations, Mohammed Aldouri, said Iraq would consider a new UN Security Council resolution on weapons inspections and allow inspections at sensitive "presidential" sites. "We are not rejecting any resolutions of the Security Council," he told the US television network ABC. The Iraqi government had previously ruled out any new conditions before weapons inspectors return to Baghdad. Aldouri said: "I think now the Security Council will go to Baghdad and have all facilities, feel free to search any site in Iraq, even the sensitive sites, or so-called presidential sites." He stressed that Iraq wanted "to finish with this problem so to see the blockade, the sanctions lifted ... because of one simple reason: We don't have mass destruction weapons". Meanwhile, key US lawmakers said a resolution authorising Bush to disarm or oust Saddam by force was likely to pass this week by a wide margin, potentially strengthening the president's hand in negotiations with the United Nations. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a key dissenter from a compromise draft accepted by most congressional leaders, told NBC television a 75-25 vote could be "in the range of what we could expect" in the Senate. "We will first attempt to use every diplomatic means available," Daschle said, adding: "We ought to, if no other option is available ... use pre-emptive force unilaterally if necessary." Bush, for his part, pressed on with his verbal campaign against Saddam, slamming the Iraqi leader as a "cold-blooded killer" during a weekend visit to his parents' Kennebunkport, Maine, home. The president had cranked up the pressure in his weekly radio address a day earlier, warning that war could be unavoidable if Baghdad did not allow unfettered arms inspections. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, of Bush's Republican party, insisted on Fox television that dealing with Iraq "is a part of the war on terror". "He (Saddam) has weapons of mass destruction that could be used anywhere by just about any group, and we know he has had at least some contacts with al-Qaeda." The leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US. While the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council are unable to reach agreement over how to deal with Iraq, UN chief arms inspector Hans Blix has been forced to delay the return of disarmament inspectors. Washington and London want to send Blix to Iraq, but only with a strong new mandate, backed by the threat of immediate military action if Iraq refuses to co-operate with inspection teams. France, however, is insisting on two resolutions, with only the second specifying the use of military force. After a week of intense diplomacy, the United States and Britain still lack sufficient support to pass a single resolution, and may be forced to agree to the French proposal, US and UN officials said. In the Gulf, Baghdad continues to lobby for support among Arab neighbours which Washington could use as launchpads for any attack. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri has moved on to Oman after talks in Bahrain with King Hamad, who said he was satisfied Baghdad had agreed to the return of arms inspectors after a four-year break. Sabri is also due to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz goes on Tuesday to Syria, then to Lebanon. In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, set this week to sound out Iran, Jordan, Kuwait on the Iraq crisis, said all three states had cause to fear Baghdad. "Each of these countries has reason to fear Saddam," he told BBC Radio. "Jordan, Kuwait and Iran have been the subject of military action by Saddam." Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has said a unilateral US attack on Iraq poses a greater threat to the Middle East than Baghdad's alleged pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The International Committee of the Red Cross has begun contingency humanitarian planning in case of war, while the Israeli defence ministry has called for extra funds to buy between 300,000 and 500,000 gas masks. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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