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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (21567)	2/21/2003 10:25:33 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 27766

URL:http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/fuller/fuller1.asp

To: calgal who wrote (21567)	2/21/2003 5:46:07 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27766

Iraqi Vice President Offers `Dialogue' 43 minutes ago URL: story.news.yahoo.com. By NIKO PRICE, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's vice president offered to hold a dialogue with the United States, saying in an interview aired Friday that his country was ready to talk if Washington ends threats of war. With war clouds hanging over the country, the United Nations (news - web sites) has reduced its humanitarian staff in Iraq to simplify an evacuation in case of military action. Nearly half of the 900 foreigners working for U.N. aid programs in Iraq have left in the last two weeks, a U.N. official in Baghdad said. Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan made the offer of dialogue with the Americans in an interview broadcast Friday night on Iraq's Al-Shabab Television, owned by President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s son Odai. "We are ready for a dialogue with the American administration and ready to build economic relations," he said. "If they abandon aggression, and there is a dialogue that leads to normal relations, achieves mutual interests far away from interference in internal affairs, then we have no objection." The offer, which appeared aimed largely at the Iraqi public, is unlikely to attract a favorable response in Washington, which insists that Saddam first give up his alleged weapons of mass destruction. Despite the offer, Ramadan told Algeria's Khalifa Television that he was expecting war — and soon. "We are expecting the worst, and we don't trust the intentions of those evil countries. We expect their betrayal ... at any moment," Ramadan said. "Our readiness is great and our morale is high. They will be defeated ... and regret getting involved in Iraq." In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) made an offer of his own Friday, declaring that if the Iraqi leader cooperates with U.N. disarmament demands, "or if he leaves the country tomorrow, there will be no war." "People are hoping that war can be avoided," Powell said. "I hope it can be avoided. But the one who has the power in his hands to decide whether there will be a war or peace is Saddam Hussein." The departure from Iraq of about 450 foreigners working for U.N. aid programs over the past two weeks came after U.N. headquarters in New York recommended that the staff be reduced. "If suddenly we have to evacuate 1,000 people, it's complicated," the U.N. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Evacuating 400 people is less complicated." The voluntary reduction in staff had no impact on the 104 U.N. weapons inspectors and 115 support staff, who are working independently under a U.N. Security Council mandate to verify that Iraq has rid itself of all weapons of mass destruction. In New York, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said no new staff was being assigned to Iraq but no general evacuation order had been issued. The United States and Britain accuse Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles, despite U.N. bans on both, and have massed nearly 200,000 troops in the region to reinforce their threats of war. Iraq denies holding such weapons. At Friday prayers at the Mother of All Battles Mosque — which takes its name from Saddam's label for the Gulf War (news - web sites) — preacher Abdul-Razzaq al-Sadi told worshippers that God would help Iraq triumph in a war against U.S. and British forces. "Oh God, support Iraq and its army and leadership," he said. "Oh God, make the Jews, Americans and British weak. Oh God, crush their forces, down their planes, sink their ships and shake the earth below their feet." Niko Price is correspondent at large for The Associated Press.