Posted on 02/15/2003 10:25:37 AM PST by knak
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - The Iraqi Embassy in Helsinki sought information about anthrax from the foreign ministry in October, Finnish media reported Saturday.
The query - reportedly lodged about a month before the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Baghdad - sought suitable methods ``for the early detection of anthrax,'' the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper reported.
The request also concerned ``ways of protecting against anthrax, as well as methods, procedures and equipment needed for decontamination,'' the tabloid said.
Ilta-Sanomat said that the head of the foreign ministry's political division, Markus Lyra, confirmed the report.
``We did not answer it (the request) at all, and there have been no further discussions,'' Lyra was quoted as saying. ``It is not our field.''
``One wonders, whether it was intended simply for propaganda or similar purposes,'' he added.
Foreign ministry officials were unavailable for comment Saturday.
"At some point one must recognize the possibility that the White House is delaying by design."
"The delays have also seriously damaged the U.N. It is now clearly irrelevant. The Security Council would not be confronting Saddam had President Bush not confronted the Security Council. If the U.N. inaction stays in the spotlight much longer, the debate will turn to whether the U.S. should remain in such a feckless body. Australia's Prime Minister John Howard is already openly saying that his nation's security is more closely linked to the U.S. than the U.N."
From: The Crawl to War: What are you waiting for, Mr. President?
You, on the other hand, are predictable. You do your best work after 1 a.m. Eastern. Thanks for the flag.
Not only are we looking for a good dark night, but we're looking for favorable sustained winds, too, in the event a certain loser sets oil fields on fire, etc.
It would make a great movie or book. But I think the real world is messier than chess, and so I still think I am going to win our bet.
You have to mention that the Israelis were tired of being bashed on CNN regularly and threatened to ban CNN from the country while letting FOX News Network in. After that scare, the news media in general stopped making every Israeli reaction to Palestinian terror attacks a nonstop news event complete with overlay of horror and sympathy on behalf of the Palestinians.
I think this racheting down of the news coverage also had an effect on marginalizing Arafat.
Tony Blair insisted today that there was "no rush to war" against Iraq but the credibility of the UN would be at stake if it failed to enforce the requirement on Iraq to disarm.
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