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Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse August 2, 2000, Wednesday SECTION: Domestic, non-Washington, general news item LENGTH: 339 words HEADLINE: Iraq "contained, no longer a threat to neighbors" -- Pentagon DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Aug 1 BODY: Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule remains "contained" and is "no longer a threat to (its) neighbors", 10 years after its invasion of oil-rich Kuwait, Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon said here Tuesday. Saddam Hussein "is no longer a threat to his neighbors and is not seen as a threat to his neighbors. That's largely because of the containment that we have carried out," Bacon told a press briefing. Asked to comment on the fact that the Iraqi leader was still in power despite his country's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War, Bacon replied: "I think we are containing him every day from the depredations that made him a pariah in the Middle East in 1990, when he invaded Kuwait, 10 years ago tomorrow." "He has not been able to rebuild his military, in part because of our containment, but also in large part because of the United Nations' embargo on Iraq, which has prevented him from buying the military equipment he would like to buy," he added. Bacon accused the Iraqi leader of having "skimmed off a lot of money" and "built new palaces for his own benefit. But "he's in a sense a captive in his country. He can't leave. He seems to move around regularly, in order to avoid assassination or other attacks from forces that wish him ill," the spokesman added. Asked about the accomplishments of the US-led coalition during the Gulf War, Bacon noted: "Kuwait is free. It's rebuilt. It has a thriving economy. Iraq is contained. It has a broken economy. It is an isolated state... That's probably the fundamental accomplishment over the last 10 years." The spokesman said Iraq had been prevented from attacking its neighbors thanks to the establishment of western no-fly zones, which deny Iraq access to 60 percent of its airspace. "I think that has led to containing Iraq from attacking neighboring countries, as well as from attacking its own people on a regular basis, either in the north or in the south," he said Bacon put the number of US troops stationed in the Gulf today at around 24,000. jms/ga LANGUAGE: ENGLISH LOAD-DATE: August 1, 2000 ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://welcome.to/casi