DATE=6/28/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=IRAQI OPPOSITION
NUMBER=5-46582
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Leaders of the Iraqi National Congress, the
main opposition group to Saddam Hussein, have come to
Washington to make their case for more U-S help.
While the United States supports their efforts, they
say that support is lukewarm, and many Americans
agree. V-O-A's Ed Warner reports on their comments at
a Washington meeting that also reflected on Saddam
Hussein's hold on power.
TEXT: Powerful U-S and British forces surround Saddam
Hussein. They bomb his country almost every day.
Iraq is subject to strict economic sanctions. Yet
Saddam Hussein remains in power and may be getting
stronger.
That is the assessment of Sherif Ali bin al-Hussein,
leader of the Constitutional Monarchist Party and a
member of the Iraqi National Congress, a coalition of
opposition groups.
At a meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, he warned that Saddam Hussein will soon escape
the box (EDS: free himself of restrictions) imposed on
him after the Gulf war and start a military build-up
that includes weapons of mass destruction. He
predicts Iraq will emerge as a regional superpower
under its ruthless leader.
Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress,
acknowledges that restraints on Saddam are fast
eroding:
/// Chalabi Act ///
We see allies of the United States in the Gulf
such as Qatar, the U-A-E (United Arab Emirates)
and Bahrain re-establish full diplomatic
relations with Saddam in recent weeks. Qatar is
the main depository of U-S military hardware in
the Gulf, and Bahrain is the main rest-and-
recreation area for U-S forces in the Gulf. The
Italian parliament has passed resolutions asking
for the removal of sanctions.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Chalabi said Turkey has sent a business delegation
to Iraq. Jordan and Syria are also cozying up to
(EDS: becoming friendlier with) the Baghdad regime,
which has activated its intelligence operatives
abroad.
The Iraqi opposition complained to Vice President Al
Gore about this growing appeasement, and he issued a
statement of support for the Iraqi National Congress.
But such support is not being expressed at all levels
of the Clinton Administration, says Mr. al-Hussein:
/// Al-Hussein Act ///
All the efforts that the top leadership are
putting in to liberating Iraq are being
undermined at lower levels. Can we have a
unified message? Can we not have people talking
behind our backs and saying they are incapable
of doing this and incapable of doing that when
we are constantly faced with obstacles. It does
great damage to us when officials of the
administration say: Do not take these guys
seriously.
/// End Act ///
The opposition leaders said they recognize the
suffering of the Iraqi people, which they blame
largely on Saddam. Part of their own program involves
getting humanitarian aid to Iraq.
And Mr. Chalabi questioned the usefulness of punishing
Iraqis for the sins of their leader:
/// Chalabi Act ///
Sanctions are not a policy. To maintain
sanctions without the prospect of removing
Saddam is an immoral act.
/// End Act ///
Yet the sanctions remain in place -- along with
Saddam. The United Nations estimates hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis have died as a result of them.
The Washington Post reports hundreds more have been
killed by U-S bombing.
To what purpose? asks Eric Gustafson, executive
director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center.
The sanctions are supposedly based on the continued
concealment of weapons of mass destruction. But arms
controllers say there are hardly any left in Iraq to
discover.
At a recent meeting of the American Muslim Council,
Mr. Gustafson said disarmament is now a matter of
looking for a needle in a haystack:
/// Gustafson Act ///
At the tip of that needle you have anthrax, and
it is somewhere lost in the fields of Iraq.
Until you find that needle, you do not have
disarmament of Iraq. A hundred per cent
disarmament is absolutely impossible. I think
what it does is ensure that the goal posts (EDS:
requirements) are so high Iraq will never meet
its obligations, and sanctions will become
permanent.
/// End Act ///
The Iraqi opposition contends removal of weapons is
insufficient. Saddam Hussein must go. But they
concede that is not likely any time soon, and so
Iraqis continue to suffer from both Saddam and
sanctions. (signed)
NEB/EW/JP
28-Jun-2000 15:33 PM EDT (28-Jun-2000 1933 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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