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Pastimes : The Justa and Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club Thread
VTI 337.56+0.1%Dec 5 4:00 PM EST

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To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (1242)6/11/2001 8:47:47 PM
From: Justa Werkenstiff   of 10065
 
Saddam Expects Confrontation Over UN Sanctions Issue
Dow Jones Newswires
BAGHDAD (AP)--Iraq's rejection of a U.S.-backed British proposal to overhaul U.N. sanctions is expected to lead to a military confrontation, President Saddam Hussein said Saturday.

Saddam didn't mention who the confrontation would be with, but in remarks delivered at a Cabinet session it was clear he was referring to the United States and Britain.

"We are approaching a new confrontation ... We must be prepared for it," Saddam said. His remarks were broadcast by state-run television.

"It is necessary to let our people know the details ... the whole truth," added Saddam. "Then when the confrontation occurs we will be victorious because ... the battle is a battle of national independence."

Saddam's remarks came less than a week after Iraq halted most of its oil exports, stopping the flow Monday to all but neighboring Turkey and Jordan.

The indefinite halt was meant to protest a U.N. Security Council decision to extend by one month instead of the usual six months the oil-for-food program under which Iraq can sell its oil. The shorter renewal is meant to give council members time to study the British plan to change the U.N. sanctions imposed for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The proposal, dubbed by its supporters as "smart sanctions," would allow civilian goods to flow freely into Iraq - except for goods that appear on a U.N. list of items that could be used for military purposes.

Saddam said that the proposal is a "new plot (that) is part of the tough battle we are facing."

"They want to break the morale of the Iraqis and colonize (Iraq) with new means ... by controlling its resources and by preventing Iraq from developing itself," Saddam said. "The enemies change the names of the plot from sanctions to smart sanctions then to arms control."

Saddam said that if the aim of the U.S. and Britain is to prevent Iraq from obtaining weapons, then "why don't they issue a resolution banning countries from exporting weapons to Iraq."

"Then the issue will be over. ... Then they could punish any country that violates this resolution," Saddam added.

U.S. and British warplanes have been patrolling no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq since the Gulf War, which ended in February 1991 with the end of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait.

Iraq doesn't recognize the no-fly zones and has been challenging allied aircraft since December 1998. The allies say their planes never target civilians, but Iraq reports that strikes have killed some 300 people and injured more than 800
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