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>From the BBC. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz's letter to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Your Excellency, this morning, your
personal representative Prakash
Shah told me that he was informed
that a decision was made to
evacuate all the staff of Unscom and
the IAEA from Baghdad today, and
as a precautionary measure,
unnecessary employees working in the humanitarian
programme in Iraq will be evacuated.
I would like to explain the following:
"The Government of Iraq has not asked Unscom
or the IAEA to leave Iraq. Moreover, the decision
of the Iraqi Government issued on 31 October
allows the IAEA to continue its work in the field of
monitoring.
The reasons for taking this measures were not
explained to us, and we were not told which party
has made this decision.
In light of the US threats to wage military
aggression against Iraq without any authorisation
from the Security Council, this Unscom decision
proves once again and beyond any doubt that
Unscom acts upon the orders of the US
Government, and co-ordinates its activities in Iraq
with this government.
This confirms what we have always said in our letters to
you and to the Security Council, as well as in our
statements, about the connection between Unscom and
the United States.
The claim that Unscom is a subsidiary agency belonging
to the Security Council and that it is a UN agency
cannot be supported by facts on the ground.
This is a mere deceptive cover..
These developments entail a great responsibility for the
Security Council and for you, according to the charter.
We hope that these developments will be dealt with
according to these responsibilities.
Please convey the text of this letter to the president and
members of the Security Council.
-
Clinton's speech today (bizarrely enough, threatening to start a war
whilst supposedly commemorating the First World War dead):
Reversing Iraq's decision and getting
Unscom back on the job remains
the most effective way to uncover,
destroy and prevent Iraq from
reconstituting weapons of mass
destruction and the missiles to
deliver them.
But, if the inspectors are not permitted to visit suspect
sites or monitor compliance at known production
facilities, they may as well be in Baltimore, not
Baghdad.
That would open a window of
opportunity for Iraq to rebuild its
arsenal of weapons and delivery
systems in months. I say again, in
months, not years.
A failure to respond could embolden Saddam to act
recklessly, signalling to him that he can with impunity
develop these weapons of mass destruction or threaten
his neighbours.
In an age when we look forward to weapons of mass
destruction being a significant threat to civilised people
everywhere, it would permanently damage the credibility
of the United Nations Security Council to act as a force
for promoting international peace and security.
We continue to hope, indeed pray, that Saddam will
comply, but we must be prepared to act if he does not.
--
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