Iraq is desperately seeking new conventional weapons from Eastern Europe, China and North Korea,while at the same time pushing ahead with its Weapons of Mass Destruction program. The United States talks in terms of a War with Iraq much later this year or even in 2003, however recent developments might suggest that Washington does not have that amount of time before Saddam Hussein becomes a genuine threat not only to the Middle Eastern but to much of Europe and US forces deployed throughout the region.

It is reported that on April 15th 2002 crates of highly sensitive material were loaded onto an Iraqi Air Force IL-76 at a Ukrainian air field in Odessa. The Ukraine has since denied that they have supplied new radars to Iraq and indeed this was apparently the cover story at the base, however the possibility that the crates in fact contained the final ingredients needed to give Saddam Hussein the ultimate weapon cannot be ruled out. The time to a major confrontation with Iraq is short and the risk of a nuclear conflict may now be growing rapidly.

Jordan's King Says U.S. Action Against Iraq Would Create Massive Middle East Instability

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Imminent military action by the United States against Iraq would lead to widespread turmoil in the Middle East, Jordan's King Abdullah II said Sunday.

"If there's any sensitivity to what's going on between Israelis and Palestinians now, moving on Iraq at this stage would be tremendous instability in the area and one that I don't think the Arab world could handle," the king said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

President Bush has declared Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a menace and pledged to remove him from power, although the administration says it has not decided how or when that goal will be achieved.

Any U.S. move "would really create massive disturbances throughout all Arab countries," Abdullah said. "It would threaten a lot of countries."

Jordan's future would not be threatened, but "people would be very angry and very upset," he said.

Abdullah's father, the late King Hussein, incurred the wrath of Washington and its Arab allies when he refused to join the U.S.-led coalition that ended Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. Jordanians overwhelmingly supported Saddam. Relations didn't improve until 1996, when Hussein called for a change of government in Baghdad.

Abdullah sidestepped questions about what side Jordan would take in another U.S.-Iraq conflict, saying he would press for peace.

"We have a very good relationship with the American administration, and I think they value our position that dialogue is the way out," he said.

AP-ES-05-12-02 1347EDT

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA0W3E751D.html

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Jordan's King Says U.S. Action Against Iraq Would Create Massive Middle East Instability