U.S. Delegation Arrives in Iraq
Sat Sep 14, 6:22 AM ET
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An American delegation headed by West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall arrived in Iraq on Saturday, with members saying they would push for peace as well as the return of U.N. weapons inspectors.
"We are on a humanitarian mission ... not only to convince the Iraqi people that the American people are concerned with their suffering, but also to show that the American people, their vast majority, are peace-waging individuals," said Rahall, a Democrat.
The delegation, which also includes former South Dakota Sen. James Abourezk, plans to visit hospitals in Baghdad. The trip is sponsored by the Institute of Public Accuracy, a Washington-based group of analysts.
The delegation flew to Baghdad overnight from Syria. It arrived two days after President Bush told the U.N. General Assembly that the Iraqi government must grant access to U.N. weapons inspectors or face a confrontation.
Ratcheting up the pressure Friday, Bush said he was "talking days and weeks" for a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would demand Iraq admit inspectors or face the consequences. Iraq has barred inspectors, who are charged with verifying the elimination of its weapons of mass destruction, since 1998.
Speaking in the al-Rasheed Hotel, Rahall said he had no scheduled meetings with Iraqi government officials, but "if such opportunity presents itself, it is my desire to stress upon the Iraqi government and its president that they must accept unconditional access to their country by U.N. weapons inspectors."
Rahall said the return of inspectors would be a step toward peace, but he declined to say if it would put an end to Bush's desire to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"I cannot speak on behalf of President Bush. I am not here as a secretary of state or a weapons inspector. I am here as individual member of congress who has questions that I would like to get answers to," Rahall said.
The other delegates are Nick Solomon, the head of the Institute of Public Accuracy, and James Jennings, the president of Conscience International — an Atlanta-based aid and rights group. The State Department has approved the trip, the first by a U.S. legislator to Iraq in several years.
I should have caught that. Thanks for the correction.
Make that Nick Joe 'The Appeaser' Rahall