Powell Readies for Big U.N. Presentation
URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77593,00.html
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
NEW YORK — Secretary of State Colin Powell will be the man of the hour on Wednesday when he presents evidence the White House says irrefutably shows that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and is mocking the rest of the world.
The United States, trying to garner U.N. support for military action if it's needed to oust the Iraqi dictator, will hand over evidence to the U.N. Security Council showing that Iraq has hidden large caches of banned weapons from international inspectors and defied calls on it to disarm.
The evidence is expected to include transcripts and possibly recordings of intercepted conversations of Iraqi officials discussing the country's weapons programs. There probably also will be images taken by satellites of suspected biological weapons labs, officials said.
Powell's report also is expected to indicate that Iraqi officials had advance knowledge where U.N. weapons inspectors were going to look, in line with a recent report from the British government that said Iraqi intelligence had bugged inspectors' telephones and hotel and conference rooms.
Asked Tuesday by Fox News if he is confident he can make his case, Powell said, "We'll see." Asked what his reaction was to Saddam Hussein's claims he has no weapons of mass destruction, Powell simply said, "Prove it."
The intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs is considered solid; the information on Baghdad's contacts with Al Qaeda is less so but still suspicious, officials said. The information centers on the movements of a lieutenant of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who traveled to Baghdad last summer for medical treatment and is now believed to be working with a Kurdish Islamic extremist group in northern Iraq, officials said.
The presentation also will refer to an Iraqi defector who has told U.S. intelligence about mobile chemical labs, a senior administration official said.
Powell's public presentation in New York will be the centerpiece of a strenuous campaign to enlist support from Russia, France and other governments hesitant to go to war with Iraq, as well as from the American public.
But the Iraqi government newspaper al-Iraq said Powell "will not come up with anything new." In an editorial, it likened the Bush administration to a "raging bull that can't see what's happening around it. The world won't compromise on the lies of Washington."
Photographs of mobile biological weapons labs and transcripts of overheard Iraqi conversations will be distributed by Powell in his effort to persuade the other nations that diplomacy and searches have about run their course.
"There will be quite a few details about them," one senior U.S. official told Fox News, referring to the biological labs, but "there may not be pictures."
Questions have also arisen as to the strength of the connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq. It's not yet known how much information Powell will present showing clear-cut links between the two, but the White House has repeatedly said it has no doubt of the relationship. "It won't be a huge portion" of Powell's presentation, one official said.
Asked to respond to reports that Saddam has said Iraq has no ties to Al Qaeda, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld responded, "And Abraham Lincoln was short."
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said Monday he expected the evidence to show details of a transfer of technology from other countries and the relocation of weapons systems within Iraq.
"He can go into a level of detail with respect to the present maintenance of the stock that he hasn't gone into before," Hunter said.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said he would not be surprised if Powell disclosed to the Security Council information that had not been made available to Congress.
One official told Fox News that Powell will say many things the international community has heard before and some it has not, although the source of some information will remain under wraps.
While the United States legal system traditionally calls for prosecutors to present evidence "to prove guilt above a reasonable doubt," Rumsfeld said Tuesday that in an age where weapons of mass destruction can wipe out an entire population, "our goal has to be to take all reasonable steps to protect the lives of our citizens -- that is a quite different task."
He said the issue is not whether weapons inspectors can find weapons that Iraq is hiding.
"What is being tested is, whether or not, after more than a decade, Saddam Hussein will finally cooperate with the U.N. resolution requiring his cooperation," Rumsfeld said. "Regrettably, the answer is more apparent every day as he continues to deceive and deny" the resolution.
Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix speculated Tuesday that the evidence Powell will show likely will be based on satellite imagery and phone conversations or procurement. Blix said it's unlikely Powell will tell of specific sites where weapons can be found, "because they would have given them to us."
While pleading with Iraq to cooperate with inspectors and hand over more details about its weapons program, Blix said, "Iraq has to take this seriously."
Asked about recent comments made by U.S. officials stating that the diplomatic window is closing for Iraq, Blix said: "I don't think the end is near. But Iraqi leadership must be aware of that."
Meanwhile, the White House continues to schmooze with world leaders to build a coalition against Saddam.
Bush talked by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about 15 minutes Tuesday.
But British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch ally of President Bush in this effort and ardent skeptic of Saddam's disarmament promises, on Tuesday failed in a new attempt to persuade a reluctant France to join a U.S.-led coalition ready to move against Saddam if necessary.
France and Russia, both of whom have veto power in the Security Council, are prime targets for Powell, who said in an article published Monday by The Wall Street Journal that "we will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction."
Powell also planned a series of meetings with foreign ministers and ambassadors from all 14 other Security Council nations Tuesday and Wednesday. All 14, plus Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri, are due to make statements Wednesday.
CIA Director George J. Tenet, and his chief deputy, John McLaughlin, will accompany Powell but not provide any testimony, U.S. officials said. Tenet's presence is needed because Powell's remarks "will be lightly based on intelligence and [Tenet] wants to be there to support what Powell's going to say," officials told Fox News.
Tenet and Powell met on Tuesday to pow-wow before Wednesday's big event.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that Iraq's biological and chemical weapons programs "will be well documented tomorrow by Secretary Powell."
He said that while "I don't want to overstate it, for the obvious reason," Powell would also show "some intersections with various and sundry terrorist groups and that is our real fear with Iraq."
Meanwhile, the king of Bahrain, in Washington for meetings with the administration leaders, said Tuesday he believes Bush wants peace in the region. Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf, is a key U.S. supporter in the region and is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
"The president's goals are for peace in our region, and peace means progress and development," King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifaf said after a meeting with Rumsfeld.
Hamad said it was "for the world to decide" if military action should be taken and would not say whether he would allow U.S. forces to use Bahrain as a base for an invasion without U.N. approval.
Hamad also called on Saddam to cooperate with the U.N.
"For the sake of peace, we urge Iraq to comply with the international inspectors, so the people of the region can avoid another war," Hamad said.
Fox News' Jim Angle and Eric Shawn and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
