Cheney remarks dampen hopes of Iraq solution
By Carola Hoyos in Washington
Published: August 7 2002 21:44 | Last Updated: August 7 2002 21:44
Dick Cheney, US vice-president, on Wednesday said that sending back United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq would not be enough to counter the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, its president.
The comments put in doubt Washington's commitment to not undermine attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the impasse with Iraq, and are likely to frustrate even the US's closest international allies.
"Many of us, I think, are sceptical that simply returning the inspectors will solve the problem," said Mr Cheney, becoming the highest-ranking US official to come out so strongly against UN weapons inspectors. He added: "A debate with [Mr Hussein] over inspectors simply, I think, would be an effort by him to obfuscate, delay and avoid having to live up to the accords that he signed up to at the end of the Gulf war."
Nearly every other member of the UN, including the UK, Washington's closest ally, is counting on a diplomatic breakthrough that would allow inspectors back into Iraq and avert war with the US. Washington has long taken a lukewarm attitude towards the diplomatic approach of Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, but US officials have so far been careful not to undermine his efforts.
Mr Cheney's comments come on the heels of the UN's decision this week to decline Iraq's invitation to continue negotiations in Baghdad with Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector. Russia in particular had hoped Mr Annan would accept the invitation, but the US and UK made clear the UN must not reopen negotiations on Mr Hussein's terms.
Baghdad has blocked UN weapons inspectors from returning to the country since 1998, when the teams evacuated ahead of a US-led military strike against Iraq.
President George W. Bush on Wednesday said: "I will explore all options and all tools at my disposal: diplomacy, international pressure, perhaps the military. But it's important for my fellow citizens to know that as we see threats evolving we will deal with them. We must deal with them." He added at a later fundraiser: "We can't let the world's worst leaders blackmail and threaten the United States with the world's worst weapons."
Mr Cheney said the US had not yet decided whether to strike Iraq. But, he said: "It's the judgment of many of us that in the not too distant future [Mr Hussein] will acquire nuclear weapons. And a nuclear-armed Saddam Hussein is not a pleasant prospect. Sooner or later the international community is going to have to deal with that." |
