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19 September 2002

White House Accuses Iraqi Foreign Minister of Deception and Distortion

(Fleischer comments about Naji Sabri's speech at UN September 19)
(300)
By Laura Brown
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - Iraqi tactics would lead the world down "the same
dead-end road" of deception and thwarted weapons inspections that
Baghdad has been traveling for 10 years, said White House Spokesman
Ari Fleischer.
Briefing reporters in Washington September 19, Fleischer characterized
a speech by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri earlier that day at
the United Nations as "a disappointing failure by Iraq."
"Iraq failed to accept the truth and engaged in additional deceptions,
and showed no willingness to change attitude or behavior. Sadly, the
speech presented nothing new and was more of the same," the spokesman
said.
Fleischer said Iraq's claim that it is clear of all nuclear, chemical
and biological weapons is "categorically a lie" and that the Iraqi
Foreign Minister's speech used "code words for thwarting the
inspectors."
"When you hear what the Iraqi foreign minister said today, how can you
not come to the conclusion that there's anything but a repeat of
conditions?" Fleischer said. "Iraq uses the word 'sovereignty' in an
effort to get around the very resolutions that they have been called
on by the world to comply with. That is a code word for deception,
deceit and for thwarting the inspectors."
In his September 12 address to the UN General Assembly, President Bush
"laid out the important decisions that Iraq has to take," Fleischer
said. These include destroying its weapons of mass destruction,
stopping its repression of minorities, returning prisoners, renouncing
involvement with terrorism and ceasing its violations of the
oil-for-food program, the spokesman explained.
Fleischer emphasized that it is "important for the United Nations to
move quickly" to disarm the Iraqi regime and "to act in a strong and
meaningful way."
"I think the United Nations has no desire to travel down the same
dead-end road again. They have spent 10 years traveling down that
dead-end road," Fleischer said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)