Washington Wants to Ensure Iraq Is Free of Nonconventional Weapons Before Strike, Iraqi Paper

AP via TBO ^ | July 7,2002 | Associated Press

[John W]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Washington is pushing for the return of U.N. arms inspectors to Iraq to ensure there are no weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein's army could use in the event of a U.S. strike, a leading daily said Sunday. The Americans "are endeavoring to double-check these myths - do they (weapons) exist or not," said a front-page editorial in Babil, the newspaper owned by Saddam's eldest son Odai.

"If they exist, as they (the Americans) think they do, they will dismantle them so that they can start their aggression on Iraq," the newspaper wrote. "Once they enter the country and accomplish their objective, they will launch their aggression within 15 days or a month."

The editorial came two days after the United Nations failed to convince Iraq to allow the return of weapons inspectors to Baghdad after two days of negotiations in Vienna.

Babel claimed that the United States has deployed military advisers and American special forces in neighboring Jordan to take part in an attack against Iraq.

"This means that the Jordanians are bringing an oil-coated stick close to a burning fire," the paper wrote in an apparent warning to the Jordanians. Jordan has denied those claims.

The United States has warned Saddam he faces unspecified consequences if he does not allow the return of the inspectors, who left ahead of 1998 allied airstrikes launched to punish Iraq for blocking inspections.

Iraq has been under U.N. sanctions since it invaded Kuwait in 1990. The sanctions can be lifted only when inspectors certify that Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are destroyed, along with the long-range missiles that could deliver them.

[Prodigal Son]

More rumblings involving Jordan I note. I wonder if all this sudden mention of Jordan falls under what the NSA calls "chatter"- ie the "chatter" that was at a fever pitch among terrorists just before 9/11.

[John W]

When was the last date Scott Ritter was in Iraq-and I mean when he was on the side of the good guys?
Saddam started this war when he invaded Kuwait,its just taken us a while to get around to finishing it.Not sure you can count the period of 1-20-1993 to 1-20-2001 as part of the time waiting,the adminstration in power then wasn't serious about Iraq.

[ellery]

The concern is that Hussein would provide WMD to terrorists who would smuggle them into Israel, the US or elsewhere and set them off. Because they wouldn't necessarily be traceable back to Iraq, there would be no excuse for a Baghdad retaliation. Since terrorists are generally not concentrated in a country, there's nowhere to strike back against...and deterrence doesn't work for suicidal foot soldiers and terrorist leaders who we can't find.

[NeoCaveman]

As Bob Novak points out: What ever happened to the idea of deterence?

I'll see your Bob Novak and raise you a Max Singer, senior fellow in the Hudson Institute. Better than Retaliation What must be done.