PBM-The set-up for a "Wag the dog" war>U.S. pledges swift response to any Iraqi attack on neighbors.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assured
Israel and its Arab neighbors Sunday the United States would have
a "swift and resounding'' response to any Iraqi attack in the region.
After extensive talks in Israel, Albright took the message that Arabs
too are under America's protective wing to Kuwait. She will repeat
it Monday in Saudi Arabia during her tour seeking Arab support for
military action against Iraq to enforce U.N. resolutions.
Unlike in 1990, when an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait congealed most
of the Persian Gulf Arabs, none has bought into the necessity of
action in the current crisis brought on by Iraq's refusal to let U.N.
weapons inspectors do their work.
In 1991, as planes of the U.S.-led coalition blasted Iraq, both Israel
and Saudi Arabia were hit by Iraqi missiles before Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein's annexation of Kuwait was reversed.
Faced with the growing likelihood of a U.S. bombardment of
suspects arms sites, Israel is worried that Saddam may be inclined
to strike again.
During the gulf war, the Bush administration pressured Israel not to
retaliate for the 39 Scud missiles that hit its territory. The worry
was that if Israel joined the conflict, the Arabs who had joined the
anti-Iraq war coalition would quit.
This time, Israel is vowing to respond to any attack.
At a news conference after inconclusive back-to-back talks with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat, Albright addressed the Israeli people.
"The United States stands with you in the face of Saddam's latest
threat today,'' she said.
In Jerusalem, the Haaretz newspaper reported that the United
States has agreed to supply Israel with hundreds of thousands of
doses of antidotes against biological warfare, specifically anthrax.
U.S. and U.N. experts believe anthrax and other biological weapons
ingredients may be stored secretly at Iraqi sites that Saddam's
government has declared off-limits to U.N. inspectors.
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai said he expects an early word
on any U.S. military strike against Iraq. "We have been working
with the United States for a long time to be prepared today and in
the future for a nonconventional weapon attack,'' Mordechai told
reporters.
Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition,'' Albright warned the Iraqis that
if Israel or Arab nations are attacked, the U.S. response would be
forceful.
"Were Saddam Hussein to attack ... Israel, or any of the other
neighboring countries, our response would be swift and
resounding,'' she said.
All this "war" talk is helping the prez, as his poll #'s are climbing, fast!!! |
