DATE=8/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAQ / ALBRIGHT (L-O)
NUMBER=2-265056
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Secretary of State Madeline Albright has
marked the tenth anniversary of Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait by saying Saddam Hussein is to blame for his
country's misery. Correspondent Laurie Kassman in
London reports on the secretary's comments to a
British daily newspaper.
TEXT: The headline of the Financial Times commentary
sums up Secretary of State Albright's view of Saddam
Hussein. It reads - enemy of his people.
Ms. Albright says Saddam Hussein has always had the
option to comply with U-N demands that he scrap Iraq's
weapons arsenals and cease to be a military threat to
his neighbors. But, she says, the Iraqi leader has
stubbornly refused to follow this path and instead has
chosen to defy the United Nations, rebuild his
military, and exploit the suffering of his people.
Ms. Albright's commentary in Britain's leading
financial daily coincides with the 10th anniversary of
Iraq's invasion of neighboring Kuwait. The U-S
government led an international coalition of forces
that eventually pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in
the 1991 Gulf War.
Ms. Albright insists the Iraqi leader's defiance of U-
N Security Council requirements has prolonged Iraq's
misery. Ten-years of tough economic sanctions have
left the country's economy in shambles and its health
and education services at a bare minimum.
The United States adamantly opposes lifting the U-N
sanctions until there is ample proof Iraq has scrapped
its weapons of mass destruction.
In contrast, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine
marked the anniversary by calling for an end to the U-
N sanctions. France insists it is time to ease the
trade restrictions because of damage to Iraq's economy
and social services. That view has been supported by
Russia and many Arab countries.
Mr. Vedrine told the Arab-language daily Al Hayat
newspaper that sanctions are cruel, ineffective and
dangerous. He says continuing the sanctions only
threatens the social cohesion of Iraq and stability of
the region.
The French diplomat argues that 10-years of sanctions
have not encouraged cooperation from the Baghdad
leaders who remain unaffected by them. (SIGNED)
NEB/LMK/GE/RAE
02-Aug-2000 07:49 AM EDT (02-Aug-2000 1149 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
NEWSLETTER
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|