Bush certain Iraq isn't cooperating
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| • | White House report on Iraq |
By Paul Basken
Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush said nations shouldn't be deceived by Iraq as France, Germany, China and Russia urged more time be given to allow the United Nations to complete inspections of Iraq's arms program.
Associated Press
"Surely our friends have learned lessons from the past," Bush said yesterday in Washington. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "is giving people the runaround. It is clear to me now he is not disarming."
Weapons inspectors leave U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. Most U.S. allies favor giving the inspectors more time.
France and China, permanent members of the Security Council with the power to veto resolutions, said they aren't ready to endorse the use of force against Iraq. Germany, which takes over the council presidency in February, opposes military action.
The U.S. yesterday ordered two aircraft carriers and 16,000 extra troops to the Persian Gulf. It will have about 185,000 troops in the region by mid-February to undertake any military action in the event Iraq fails to comply with UN resolutions. UN arms inspectors report to the Security Council Jan. 27 on Iraq's compliance.
The Bush administration said some nations are engaging in "dangerous wishful thinking" about Iraq's desire to comply with demands it disarm.
Hussein "is not cooperating with the international community, and he certainly is not disarming his nation of the biological and chemical weapons and nuclear capabilities he continues to hold," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday.
Germany won't vote for any UN resolution authorizing war against Iraq, Agence France-Presse cited Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as saying late yesterday.
"Don't expect Germany to approve a resolution which would give legitimacy to war," AFP cited him as saying.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said earlier this week there isn't any justification for military action.
"If war is the only way to resolve this crisis, we are going down a dead end," he said.
Russia, another permanent Security Council member, said diplomatic efforts should continue.
Bush, Armitage, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell have argued Hussein isn't to be trusted after a decade of what they say is deception about his weapons programs.
The administration yesterday issued a 32-page dossier listing Hussein's efforts since 1990 to mislead the world about his efforts to obtain arms, his political oppression and exploitation of Islam.
The report, "Apparatus of Lies," says Hussein's efforts include deliberately placing civilians near military targets and placing military equipment near mosques and historical artifacts "to craft tragedy" in the eyes of outside observers.
The U.K. earlier this week said it is sending about 30,000 troops to the Persian Gulf region. The Australian government today said it will deploy a contingent of naval, air force and ground troops in the region.
Australia's defense ministry didn't say how many troops will be involved. The Australian military commitment is likely to total about 1,650 troops, the government said earlier this month.
Some accusations in a report released yesterday by the White House, titled, "Apparatus of Lies: Saddam's Disinformation and Propaganda, 1990-2003": • To deter attacks or bring criticism to his attackers, Saddam has used both Iraqis and Westerners as human shields around military equipment, facilities and troops, and also has placed military equipment around mosques and ancient cultural treasures. In April 2002, for instance, commercial satellite imagery showed the Iraqis had constructed 15 military revetments near a school south of Baghdad. Also last year, the U.S. government learned the Iraqi government had ordered taxis and buses repainted to resemble military vehicles. • Saddam and regime elites have enriched themselves, built opulent palaces and armed the military at the expense of food and medicine for average citizens, for instance selling to other countries the food brought into Iraq under a United Nations oil-for-food program. • To create the impression that U.N. sanctions are causing starvation and sickness among the Iraqi people, the regime has collected and stored the bodies of dead babies to stage mass funeral processions. • Saddam exploits Islam, while refusing proposals for Iraqis to travel to Mecca for the Muslims' annual pilgrimage, unless direct payments to the government are involved. • The Iraqi regime has deliberately damaged facilities and blamed it on bombing by coalition forces in the Gulf War. • Saddam uses false claims, fake interviews and made-up news accounts to influence world opinion.
White House report on Iraq
