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Dear Sir
Congratulations to Simon Tisdall on his diagnosis of 'second Gulf war
syndrome', and his recommendation of a 'strict diet of fact' for the
warmongers ('Facts are the best cure for this outbreak of war fever',
Guardian, 7 August 2002).
One crucial fact to be added: it is not Baghdad but Washington that is
trying to undermine negotiations to return weapons inspectors to
Iraq.
It is the US which refuses to give Iraq an assurance that while
weapons inspectors are at work there will be no assault on Iraq.
It is the US which says that whether or not inspectors go in, the US
will try to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The supposed 'dove' US
Secretary of State Colin Powell said in May, 'US policy is that,
regardless of what the inspectors do, the people of Iraq and the
people of the region would be better off with a different regime in
Baghdad. The United States reserves its option to do whatever it
believes might be appropriate to see if there can be a regime change.'
(Guardian, 6 May 2002)
It is the US which leaked the 250,000 troop invasion plan in
July during the last round of talks between Kofi Annan and the Iraqi
Foreign Minister on the return of inspectors - one participant in the
talks said the leaked document 'did not help'.
According to a top Senate foreign policy aide quoted in Time
magazine (13 May, p. 38), 'The White House's biggest fear is that UN
weapons inspectors will be allowed to go in.'
For the rest of the world, which wants to solve the weapons issue and
the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, UN weapons inspectors are an
essential part of the solution to the crisis.
For the US, which just wants to win the Gulf War, inspectors could
get in the way of an invasion. They are part of the problem, not part
of the solution.
Yours sincerely
Milan Rai
ARROW
info@justicenotvengeance.org
29 Gensing Road
St Leonards on Sea
East Sussex
TN38 0HE
Ph 01424 719 570
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