The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.

Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.

[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[casi] Newsnight on Desert Fox as 'response' to withdrawal of weaponsinspectors



Dear CASI list:

I emailed this to Newsnight:

'In tonight's Newsnight (19 November), Jeremy Paxman wrongly described
the Operation Desert Fox bombing of Iraq in December 1998 as a
'response' to the withdrawal of the UN weapon inspectors. In fact, the
withdrawal of the inspectors was a response to the US decision with
British support to bomb Iraq. On p. 224 of his memoir 'Saddam Defiant,
Richard Butler, then chief weapon inspector, writes: 'I received a
telephone call from U.S. Ambassador Peter Burleigh inviting me for a
private conversation at the US mission [...] Burleigh informed me that
on instructions from Washington it would be 'prudent to take measures
to ensure the safety and security of UNSCOM staff presently in Iraq.'
[...] I told him that I would act on this advice and remove my staff
from Iraq.' Butler made this decision without informing the Security
Council. The real sequence of events raises awkward questions about US
policy which do not arise from the Mr. Paxman's inaccurate version of
events.'

----------------------
Dr. Eric Herring
Department of Politics
University of Bristol
10 Priory Road
Bristol BS8 1TU
England, UK
Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582
Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608
Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133
eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics
http://www.ericherring.com


_______________________________________________
Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss
To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk


[Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]