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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bilow who wrote (44669)	9/17/2002 2:00:10 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

opp's White House dismisses Iraqi inspections offer The White House has dismissed Iraq's offer to let weapons inspectors return there unconditionally. The move could be an attempt to split the Security Council and preclude stern US action against Iraq. The White House released a written statement that called the offer "a tactical step by Iraq in hopes of avoiding strong UN Security Council action". "As such, it is a tactic that will fail," spokesman Scott McClellan said. "This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions," Mr McClellan added. Another White House official said the letter did not surprise the administration, because of a historical pattern of such 11th-hour communiques and because Bush administration officials had prior indications that Iraq was preparing it. The administration seeks three things in a new UN resolution: a list of Iraqi violations of previous resolutions; steps Iraq needs to take to comply; and consequences Iraq will face if it does not comply. The new Iraqi offer meets none of the administration's demands, and US officials see no reason to budge from its position, the official said. A second senior official described White House's attitude toward the letter as "very, very dismissive". The letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is certain to be seized on by countries opposed to any move by the Security Council to give the US the green light to depose Saddam Hussein militarily if he attempts to limit inspections. France, in particular, believes the focus of the international community should be on disarmament, not regime change. ananova.com