18 December 1998
"SADDAM LEFT US NO CHOICE BUT TO ACT FORCEFULLY," PICKERING SAYS
(US strike not aimed at Iraqi people, Arabs, or Islam, he says) (510) By Rick Marshall USIA Staff Writer Washington -- The United States has "taken appropriate military action" in response to Saddam Hussein's "persistent refusal to comply with Security Council resolutions," Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering said at a December 18 briefing at the Foreign Press Center. "This strike reaffirms the strength of the United Nations system," the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Russia said. "We have acted in accordance with U.N. resolutions that represent the will of the international community," Pickering continued. "These resolutions include Resolution 678 which authorized the use of force against Iraq; Resolution 687 which established the terms of the ceasefire (at the end of the Gulf War), a resolution which Saddam has repeatedly violated; Resolution 1154 of earlier this year, which made clear that any new violations would entail severest consequences; and Resolution 1205 of early November, which found Saddam in flagrant violation of his obligations." Further, he said, the report that the executive chairman of the United Nations weapons inspectors, Richard Butler, submitted to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan December 15 clearly stated "that Iraq did not provide full cooperation, nor permit UNSCOM to carry out its mandate." Saddam Hussein "presents a special challenge to the international community," Pickering said. "He made his intentions clear in his dealing with UNSCOM. He will not comply with his obligations and will not permit UNSCOM to do its job." The United States is "determined to see the full compliance by Iraq with Security Council resolutions. In November we gave Saddam one more chance to live up to these promises -- indeed, one last chance. Within a short few weeks he broke the promises again, even with the Security Council committed to carrying out a comprehensive review (of Iraq's disarmament) had he cooperated." "Saddam left us no choice but to act forcefully," Pickering said. His actions prove "that he is intent on keeping his weapons of mass destruction," while continuing "to hold his own people hostage to his dreams of domination." "Our strike is not aimed at the Iraqi people," the under secretary stressed. "It is not against Arabs and it is not against Islam. We are taking every precaution to avoid civilian casualties." The United States "would like to see a different government in Iraq, one that fulfills its international obligations, one that we can work with quickly to restore Iraq to its rightful place among the community of nations," he added. Nonetheless, achieving such a transformation in Iraq "will take a lot of work," he conceded. Asked whether he thought it likely that UNSCOM would be able to return to Iraq, Pickering said the United States would want to see "much more conclusive" evidence of Iraq's willingness to comply than in the past. Absent that, "we're not anxious to send UNSCOM back into a situation where it can't function," he stated.
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