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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (10149)	12/4/1997 1:51:00 PM
From: Moonray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

U.S., Britain Warn Iraq on Arms Inspections 01:35 p.m Dec 04, 1997 Eastern By Charles Aldinger LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the United States warned Thursday that they remained prepared to use military force against Iraq if necessary to force Baghdad to allow unrestricted U.N. searches of the country for chemical and biological arms. Defense Minister George Robertson said after talks with U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen that Britain was ready to move the aircraft carrier Invincible from the Mediterranean into the Gulf to join massed U.S. warplanes and ships if diplomacy did not work. ''The clear message for the people of this country and indeed for the world is that this crisis is not over,'' Robertson told a joint news conference. ''The President (Bill Clinton) has reserved all options,'' added Cohen. ''We are hoping it would not become necessary...but we would not rule out any military action.'' The two discussed Iraq at the British Defense Ministry as Baghdad, which recently allowed American members of U.N. weapons inspections teams to return to that country, continued to insist that more than 60 palaces and other sites must remain off limits to inspections. Britain has been Washington's staunchest supporter of strict demands on Iraq. And while both men said they hoped diplomatic pressure would work, they left clear what the alternative could be. ''The steel fist inside the velvet glove of diplomacy worked in humiliating Saddam in this instance,'' Robertson said of Iraq's reversal on the U.S. inspectors that it had earlier ejected from the country. ''But the world community must remain vigilant and strong and united unless he (Saddam) seeks to exploit any weakness that might exist in the future.'' He said that if Saddam continued to defy the United Nations, ''he knows that there are forces there from at least two countries -- and probably from more -- up against him.'' Richard Butler, head of the U.N. special commission on Iraq (UNSCOM), is due to visit Baghdad next week and both Cohen and Robertson said he must be firm in demanding unfettered inspections for weapons of mass destruction begun after the 1991 Gulf War. ''If he (Saddam) has nothing to fear, then he should have no objection to the U.N. inspectors going into these facilities,'' said Cohen. The visiting U.S. secretary, who will return home Friday after attending a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels this week, held up a glass of water. If it contained deadly VX chemical agent developed by Iraq, he said, it could kill hundreds of thousands of people. The United States currently has a force of some 300 warplanes and more than 22 warships, including the aircraft carriers Nimitz and George Washington, in the Gulf. Many of those ships are capable of firing long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in Iraq. Washington has warned repeatedly that, although Clinton is backing diplomatic pressure by the U.N., Washington has not ruled out massive military strikes if necessary. Britain recently moved the Invincible from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean on a routine deployment, but Robertson said on Thursday it could be moved further. ''The Invincible is in Barcelona at the present moment, but it has Tornadoes (warplanes) on board and, as and when required, it can move to the Red Sea and the Gulf,'' he told reporters. ''The crisis does remain,'' said Cohen. ''It has been deferred for the moment.'' In addition to Robertson, Cohen held talks Thursday with British Foreign Minister Robin Cook on a range of issues, including Bosnia. Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. o~~~ O