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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (3421)	8/30/1998 8:41:00 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 13994

Ex-Arms Inspector Says US Is Afraid JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States fears confrontation with Iraq and has ceded to Saddam Hussein the capacity to rebuild his arsenal, a former arms inspector who quit over U.S. policy said Sunday. American Scott Ritter, who resigned from the U.N. inspection team last week, repeated charges that U.S. foreign policy-makers intervened to stop inspections that might have led to another showdown with Iraq. In an interview published Sunday by Newsweek, Ritter said: ''I heard somebody say Madeleine Albright blocked more inspections in 1997 than Saddam Hussein did. It's a funny quip, but unfortunately it's true.'' He said on ABC's ''This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts'' that the United States is too unsure of itself internationally to formulate a tougher Iraq policy. ''I believe that the United States does not want such confrontation because it believes it cannot muster the support for such confrontation,'' he said. He also predicted that as a result of the pullback in inspections, ''six months is a very reasonable time scale for Iraq to resume weapons capabilities.'' Bill Richardson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, appearing on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' and CNN's ''Final Edition,'' defended the U.S. policy, which he described as successful in isolating Iraq and maintaining tough economic sanctions. And he denied that the United States or Albright, the secretary of state, had ordered inspectors not to inspect. ''Yes, you discuss timing and tactics, but at no time did we go to (U.N. arms inspector chief Richard) Butler and say, 'Don't inspect,''' Richardson said. ''This is a U.N. decision, this is Butler's decision. He is very independent.'' On ABC, Ritter cited to two instances that he said constituted interference with the inspection regime: -In July, 45 inspectors were on the ground in Iraq ready to look into how Iraq hides its weapons of mass destruction. They were called back under pressure from the United States and Britain, he said. -In August, with another team deployed, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and White House National Security Adviser Samuel Berger ''had the inspection first postponed for a matter of days and then canceled outright.'' ''There is an illusion of arms control taking place,'' Ritter said. ''Right now we are not doing meaningful inspections in Iraq, and if people do not change course the end result will be that Iraq will be able to retain these capabilities.'' Ritter said he resigned to bring what he called the ''failure'' of U.S. and U.N. policy ''into the public eye.'' The Senate returns from summer recess next week, and Senate Republicans have made clear they will look into Ritter's charges and the administration's approach to Iraq. ''I think the American people have been seriously misled,'' Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said on ABC. ''We're over there saying we're holding their feet to the fire, we are sending our men and women over there, we are spending a lot of our tax dollars, and behind the scenes if this is happening, then I think the administration has to be held accountable,'' he said. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, on ''Fox News Sunday,'' also faulted the administration approach. ''We have walked up the hill and down the hill three times since last November, and we have maneuvered ourselves into a position where the threat of force has become almost implausible,'' he said. Ambassador Richardson said U.S. forces, primed to strike Iraq last February before Saddam reached a deal on inspections with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, remain ready to attack if action is warranted.