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But...



Source: BBC News website

Sunday, February 22, 1998 Published at 19:26 GMT 


 US ready for action despite peace
 moves

 William Cohen: Baghdad has "had a pattern of deception and deceipt" in
the past

 American Defence Secretary William Cohen says Washington is still
 preparing for military action against Baghdad despite news of a
 possible breakthrough in talks over UN arms inspections. 


 The US is calling up "several hundred reservists
 from various bases" to bolster its forces already
 in the Gulf, he added. 

 "We're prepared to exercise the military option,"
 Mr Cohen said, adding that the extra troops
 would provide transport and support. 


 The defence chief expressed
 reservations that a deal with Iraqi
 leader Saddam Hussein would be
 reliable because of Iraq's failure to
 comply with previous agreements. 

 Mr Cohen said his attitude was
 "wait, make them show me exactly
 what the details are". 


 And Secretary of State Madeleine
 Albright said the US would pursue
 its own interests in Iraq if it was
 unhappy with any deal reached by
 the UN chief, Kofi Annan. 

 Mrs Albright added that Washington
 would accept nothing short of
 unconditional access for UN
 inspectors. 

 "US beating drum of war" 

 In Iraq, newspapers said the US was
 focused on war even while Mr
 Annan was seeking a peaceful
 solution. 

 "Although the US has agreed to the visit by the UN Secretary General
 to Baghdad, it is beating the drum of war," said al-Thawra, organ of
 the ruling Baath Party. 


 Iraq's most influential newspaper,
 Babel, owned by Saddam's son
 Uday, contrasted what it called Mr
 Annan's optimism and Iraq's "serious
 efforts" to make his mission a
 success with Washington's language.

 "The American administration gives
 itself the right to judge the results of
 the talks," Babel said. 

 Olive branch 

 In Britain, Foreign Secretary Robin
 Cook held out an olive branch,
 saying UN sanctions against Iraq
 could be dismantled soon if Saddam
 implemented a satisfactory accord. 


 "If he is willing this time to
 co-operate, that could be done in
 the near future," Mr Cook told BBC
 Radio 4's The World this Weekend. 

 "I'm not fussed where the commas
 go. What is crucial is whether Kofi
 Annan and Richard Butler, the
 executive chairman of UNSCOM,
 can say this deal lets us get back to
 work in a way that will stop Saddam
 producing chemical and biological
 weapons." 

 Potent symbolism 

 Meanwhile, Arab anger against the
 US hardline position appeared to be
 growing. 

 "Aggression against Iraq is aggression against the Arab nation," read a
 banner in Lebanon at a site with potent symbolism - the empty ground
 in Beirut where the US embassy stood until a suicide bomber slammed
 into it in 1983. 

 And Jordanian troops sealed off the southern city of Maan on Sunday,
 imposing a curfew after two days of violent pro-Iraqi demonstrations. 

 United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan
 al-Nahayan said Iraq did not pose a threat to its neighbours and
 rejected as "bad and loathsome" any US strike against Baghdad. 

 "We won't trust Saddam" 

 In Moscow, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov told protesters that
 the US was behaving like "a drunken sheriff acting as judge, jury and
 executioner" in threatening to bomb Iraq. 


 But some Kuwaitis said they doubted
 that any 11th-hour deal to end the
 crisis would hold because their
 former occupier could not be
 trusted. 

 "An agreement might help the world
 relax, but it would not help Kuwait
 relax," human rights campaigner
 Fatima al-Abdali said. 

 "We will not trust Saddam. If there is
 a settlement now it will merely
 condemn future generations of our
 people to confusion and insecurity." not fussed where the commas
 go. What is crucial is whether Kofi
 Annan and Richard Butler, the
 executive chairman of UNSCOM,
 can say this deal lets us get back to
 work in a way that will stop Saddam
 producing chemical and biological
 weapons." 

 Potent symbolism 

 Meanwhile, Arab anger against the
 US hardline position appeared to be
 growing. 

 "Aggression against Iraq is aggression against the Arab nation," read a
 banner in Lebanon at a site with potent symbolism - the empty ground
 in Beirut where the US embassy stood until a suicide bomber slammed
 into it in 1983. 

 And Jordanian troops sealed off the southern city of Maan on Sunday,
 imposing a curfew after two days of violent pro-Iraqi demonstrations. 

 United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan
 al-Nahayan said Iraq did not pose a threat to its neighbours and
 rejected as "bad and loathsome" any US strike against Baghdad. 

 "We won't trust Saddam" 

 In Moscow, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov told protesters that
 the US was behaving like "a drunken sheriff acting as judge, jury and
 executioner" in threatening to bomb Iraq. 


 But some Kuwaitis said they doubted
 that any 11th-hour deal to end the
 crisis would hold because their
 former occupier could not be
 trusted. 

 "An agreement might help the world
 relax, but it would not help Kuwait
 relax," human rights campaigner
 Fatima al-Abdali said. 

 "We will not trust Saddam. If there is
 a settlement now it will merely
 condemn future generations of our
 people to confusion and insecurity." 




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