Albright: Bush Should Hold Off on Iraq
By Associated Press
March 3, 2003, 4:18 PM EST
WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged President Bush on Monday to wait longer before attacking Iraq, saying current pressure was forcing Baghdad to disarm.
Albright, who addressed a conference on increasing the number of women in politics, said the buildup of military force in the Middle East has led to new inspections and Iraq's decision to dismantle its outlawed Al Samoud 2 missiles.
"We are actually accomplishing something," said Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton. "The president should take credit for the fact they are disarming."
As an alternative to war, she suggested more intrusive inspections and even the threat to destroy suspected weapons facilities that the government refuses to open to U.N. personnel, the way U.S. and British pilots attack missile sites in the Iraqi no-fly zones.
"The momentum seems to be moving in the direction of war," Albright said. "We might get the war over, but we night not get the postwar over."
She said there has been increased anti-American feelings overseas in response to Bush's Iraq policy. "There must be some way to do what we wanted without alienating everybody," she said.
Albright said her concern about going to war does not mean any support for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I think Saddam Hussein is a terrible dictator," she said. "There's nothing to defend about him. I pity the Iraqi people."
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
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