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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (4353)	1/29/2003 3:56:06 PM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

What would the US do, stash him somewhere until they need him again? As they needed him when Saddam went to war against Iran? Sounds like the "mirror philosophy" again. (You never answered this, incidentally.) Message 18492387 LPS5

To: PartyTime who wrote (4353)	1/29/2003 3:57:43 PM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 25898

Russia: U.S. Has to Give 'Undeniable' Iraq Proof Wed January 29, 2003 01:58 PM ET By Evelyn Leopold UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia demanded on Wednesday that Secretary of State Colin Powell provide "undeniable proof" of any Iraqi banned weapons when he addresses the U.N. Security Council next week. Moscow's U.N. ambassador, Sergei Lavrov, spoke as Security Council members convened behind closed doors on the Iraqi crisis and the Feb. 5 address by Powell. Several foreign ministers are expected to come to New York for the event, including Dominique de Villepin of France and Jack Straw of Britain. Lavrov said the evidence Powell would present had to be "convincing," adding, "We would like to see undeniable proof." He also told reporters Russia was not easing its opposition to a U.S.-led attack on Iraq now, contending comments by President Vladimir Putin had been misinterpreted. Lavrov said Putin was saying that he believed inspections had to continue unless Iraq "stops cooperating with the inspectors and starts blocking the inspectors." "We believe that inspections must continue, and that if Iraq stops cooperating with inspectors and starts blocking inspections we must look into it," Lavrov said. None of the 15 Security Council nations are defending Saddam Hussein but many have misgivings about a U.S. invasion of Iraq, believing the inspections, which just resumed two months ago after a four-year hiatus, need more time. To try to convince doubters, President Bush announced in his State of the Union message on Tuesday that Powell would address the Security Council on Feb. 5 and present information and intelligence about Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction programs. U.S. PUSH ON KEY COUNTRIES The intelligence would form one part of the U.S. push to persuade key countries -- including council members France, Russia and China, which have veto power -- and a U.S. public that military force may be necessary to disarm Iraq. In response, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri said Baghdad would increase its cooperation with the inspectors. 'We will go a step further and proactively cooperate with the inspectors to prove that these baseless allegations are nothing but fabrications," Aldouri told reporters. Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram said Iraq should be allowed to respond to accusations in order to open "possibilities for a peaceful solution." Bulgaria's ambassador Stefan Tafrov, said he believed war could still be avoided but said he was "very disappointed by the Iraqi cooperation." And Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe of Syria, Iraq's neighbor, said he hoped Powell would deliver new information -- but give it to U.N. inspectors to verify, who should have enough time to finish their work. "It is as simple as that," he said. The council also again questioned top U.N. inspector Mohamed ElBaradei, in charge of nuclear arms, and Hans Blix, responsible for chemical, biological and ballistic weapons. Underscoring the tension of an inevitable march toward war, Elbaradei said, "We all know that time is running out." But he questioned for the third time Bush's contention that Iraq had imported aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. "Our primary indications are that they are intended to be used for conventional rockets but we are still investigating that issue, because with modifications they could in fact be used for enriching uranium," he said. Elbaradei, who said on Monday he had no proof Iraq was rebuilding its nuclear arsenal, said there were more open questions on chemical and biological weapons, which can be more easily hidden. "Iraq should understand that we need to make quick progress on all front," he said. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte told Reuters that nations in the council and beyond had been calling for the United States to produce evidence and "get the facts in front of the public and that's what we intend to do." Blix bolstered the American case against Iraq on Monday by delivering a harsh report on Baghdad's failure to answer crucial questions on its past weapons programs.