WASHINGTON March
3 �
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged President Bush on
Monday to wait longer before attacking Iraq, saying current pressure was
forcing Baghdad to disarm.
Albright, who addressed a conference on increasing the number of women
in politics, said the buildup of military force in the Middle East has led
to new inspections and Iraq's decision to dismantle its outlawed Al Samoud
2 missiles.
"We are actually accomplishing something," said Albright, secretary of
state under President Clinton. "The president should take credit for the
fact they are disarming."
As an alternative to war, she suggested more intrusive inspections and
even the threat to destroy suspected weapons facilities that the
government refuses to open to U.N. personnel, the way U.S. and British
pilots attack missile sites in the Iraqi no-fly zones.
"The momentum seems to be moving in the direction of war," Albright
said. "We might get the war over, but we night not get the postwar
over."
She said there has been increased anti-American feelings overseas in
response to Bush's Iraq policy. "There must be some way to do what we
wanted without alienating everybody," she said.
Albright said her concern about going to war does not mean any support
for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I think Saddam Hussein is a terrible
dictator," she said. "There's nothing to defend about him. I pity the
Iraqi people." | 
