Iraq's June 23 Threat & Various
Iraq News, JUNE 26, 1998
By Laurie MylroieThe central focus of Iraq News is the tension between the considerable, proscribed WMD capabilities that Iraq is holding on to and its increasing stridency that it has complied with UNSCR 687 and it is time to lift sanctions. If you wish to receive Iraq News by email, a service which includes full-text of news reports not archived here, send your request to Laurie Mylroie .
I. RCC, PARTY LEADERSHIP REITERATE MAY 1 THREAT, IRAQ TV, JUN 23 On Wed, Jun 24, USA Today, reporting on Iraq's weaponization of VX, described the position of Sen Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss, "who says the administration hasn't been tough enough on Iraq, [and] says the [VX] report is 'a smoking gun.' 'Instead of standing on the sidelines while the push to lift sanctions on Iraq gathers momentum, I hope the administration will find Iraq in material breach of its obligations and act accordingly.'" On Tues, Jun 23, Frank Gaffney, in "UNSCOM Concludes Iraq is Still Cheating-Proof that Toppling Saddam's Regime is the Only Solution," wrote, "The threat posed by Iraq's chemical, biological or, for that matter, nuclear weapons will never be eliminated by inspections and sanctions . . . It will only be realized by the removal of Saddam and his brutal regime from power and their replacement by pro-Western democratic forces led by the Iraqi National Congress." [ http://www.security-policy.org ] Also on Tues, a reporter asked DoD Spokesman, Ken Bacon, "Republican members of Congress including the Majority leader and the Speaker of the House have written a letter accusing the United States of failing to fully support the UN Special Commission. And particularly, they say the United States has acquiesced in the suspension of challenge inspections and that the US is no longer urging UNSCOM to present strong evidence of Iraqi violations to the Security Council. Can I just get your reaction to that?" Bacon replied, "I don't think that's a very fair statement at all. First of all, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, said that the only reason he was able to reach his agreement with Iraq, earlier this year, was because diplomacy was backed by the credible threat of force." Yet as Jim Hoagland wrote yesterday, "Richard Butler, the chief UN weapons inspector, has shown signs of concern that he can no longer count on strong, unequivocal support from Washington and London, which he needs to stave off pressures from Moscow, Paris and Beijing in the Security Council. The support of Butler's boss, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, also became a question following his effusive praise for Saddam." Moreover, "Some of Butler's inspectors reportedly feel that the unit's highly effective Concealment Investigation Team is being rendered ineffective by a lack of active support following Annan's deal on future inspections with Saddam in Baghdad in February. It may even now be disbanded. ... Clinton talked tough before the Annan deal ... and set the stage for the March discovery of the VX warheads. But in April Clinton decided to withdraw one of the two US aircraft carriers that Congress had already funded to stay in the Persian Gulf through September. And the same time he decided not to automatically retaliate against Saddam if the inspectors are kicked out again." That, even as the administration officially maintained until late May that no decision had been made on reducing US forces in the Gulf and then began the reduction of those forces over the Memorial Day weekend. On Tues, the day the Wash Post reported a US army lab had determined that Iraq had VX warheads, Iraq's Revolution Command Council and the Bath Party leadership held a joint meeting and reaffirmed their May 1 statement demanding the speedy lifting of sanctions. As Iraqi TV reported, "A number of national, Arab, regional, and international issues were discussed ... The discussion centered on the issue of Palestine and the cause of our struggling, steadfast people in Iraq. "On the issue of dear Palestine, the conferees reiterated that Arab capability should be based on a clear strategy that views the conflict with the usurpers of the land of Palestine and its holy places and the killers of its people on the basis of its correct framework." Namely, "The Palestine question is a historical conflict that was started by the Zionists when they usurped the land and holy places of the Arabs." The statement called for collective Arab action. "Regarding the question of the blockade and the US position on it, the conferees noted the alternative strategy stated in the open letter issued by the meeting of the command and the council on 1 May 1998--the letter addressed to the president and members of the Security Council. When other means fail due to the evilness and aggressiveness of others, then this strategy, adopted by the leadership, would be the unavoidable alternative. This strategy is supported by the sons of our great people and the sons of our glorious Arab nation to get rid of the unjust blockade. It has been decided to continue meetings later to assess the final situation and make a final decision," while the statement reiterated "Iraq's firm right to have the blockade fully lifted without any delay and without any additional conditions." [For May 1 RCC-Party statement, see "Iraq News," May 5; for May 17 Cabinet reiteration of that statement, see "Iraq News," May 20] I. RCC, PARTY LEADERSHIP REITERATE MAY 1 THREAT FBIS-NES-98-175 Baghdad Iraq Television Network in Arabic 1919 GMT 23 Jun 98 Leader President Saddam Husayn, may God watch over him, chaired a joint meeting of the Revolution Command Council and the Iraq Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party. An authorized spokesman for the meeting stated the following: A number of national, Arab, regional, and international issues were discussed during this meeting. The discussion centered on the issue of Palestine and the cause of our struggling, steadfast people in Iraq. On the issue of dear Palestine, the conferees reiterated that Arab capability should be based on a clear strategy that views the conflict with the usurpers of the land of Palestine and its holy places and the killers of its people on the basis of its correct framework. The Palestine question is a historical conflict that was started by the Zionists when they usurped the land and holy places of the Arabs. The conferees also stressed that securing additional Arab capabilities can be achieved through genuine interaction based on goodwill toward the clear objectives of this strategy -- interaction between the Arab countries and the broad masses of our Arab nation. In addition, there should be an invocation of the realistic, historical collective position of the Arab nation on this issue so as to support this strategy and the tactics associated with it. Regarding the question of the blockade and the US position on it, the conferees noted the alternative strategy stated in the open letter issued by the meeting of the command and the council on 1 May 1998 -- the letter addressed to the president and members of the Security Council. When other means fail due to the evilness and aggressiveness of others, then this strategy, adopted by the leadership, would be the unavoidable alternative. This strategy is supported by the sons of our great people and the sons of our glorious Arab nation to get rid of the unjust blockade. It has been decided to continue meetings later to assess the final situation and make a final decision. The conferees also said that obstructionist attempts and deception by certain Special Commission quarters-- quarters that are activated and supported by US officials --cannot throw dust in the eyes of fair people, who have discovered the truth in full and discovered the falsification and deception of the Special Commission and the US role in supporting this hostile approach. Those fair people have also discovered Iraq's firm right to have the blockade fully lifted without any delay and without any additional conditions. The meeting was attended by the chief of the Presidential Court and the foreign minister and the minister of culture and information. [Video shows Saddam chairing meeting]
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