31 October 2002
Armitage Calls Differences between Iraq, North Korea "Fundamental"
(Expresses optimism about U.N. Security Council resolution dealing with Iraq) (870) Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage defended the differing approaches the United States has taken with regards to Iraq and North Korea over their respective weapons of mass destruction programs. In an October 30 interview with Charlie Sykes of WTMJ news radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Armitage said the differences in the two situations are "fundamental." The deputy secretary pointed out that Iraq has attacked and invaded both Kuwait and Iran, and used weapons of mass destruction during its eight-year conflict with Iran. Such weapons were also used against its own citizens, said Armitage, in reference to Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological attack on Halabja, northern Iraq in 1988. Lastly, Iraq has "a well-known affection for terrorism and identification with terrorist groups," he said. By contrast, said Armitage, North Korea has maintained "a rough equilibrium or stability on the [Korean] peninsula for about 50 years," and has been normalizing its relations with the neighboring Republic of Korea. Also, he said, "we have not had a North Korea which has been associated with terrorism," since the 1987 bombing of a Korean Airlines flight. Armitage warned that with Baghdad's existing nuclear weapons program, Saddam Hussein could have a nuclear weapon within a year if he obtains fissile material from another country. And "left to his own devices, with no fissile material, by the end of the decade, he'll have a nuclear weapon," he said. Armitage said he expected possible U.N. weapons inspections to take months, but added "that's a gamble that we're willing to take." Following is a transcript of Deputy Secretary Armitage on WTMJ Milwaukee: (begin transcript) Interview by Charlie Sykes of WTMJ Milwaukee Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State Washington, DC October 30, 2002 (11:05 a.m. EDT) (Note: Questions were unrecorded and are paraphrased here.) DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Good morning, Mr. Sykes. QUESTION: [Let's get down to the number one item on the agenda -- Saddam Hussein. How confident are you that the UN will pass a resolution to do what needs to be done?] DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, it's not just this country. If the UN Security Council gives us a resolution, it's got the weight of the entire United Nations behind it, which would call for the disarmament of Iraq of her weapons of mass destruction. I think that our optimism grows daily that we'll be able to bring this about. QUESTION: [Is the administration prepared to act if the UN Security Council doesn't?] DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: The President has said we are prepared to act with a coalition of the willing if we cannot get the UN Security Council to step up to its own obligations. It is the Security Council, which is being made a fool of by Saddam Hussein, not the United States. QUESTION: [How do you draw a distinction between North Korea, now that it has admitted its capacity for nuclear weapons, and Iraq?] DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, first of all, we've said, since I believe 1999, publicly, that we believe the North Koreans had at least one nuclear weapon, but the differences are rather fundamental for us. In the question of Iraq, or in the case of Iraq, we've got an unrelenting enemy of the United States, her own neighbors and Israel. We've got a country, which is in a rigorous and relentless drive for the full range of weapons of mass destruction. We've got a country which has attacked and invaded her neighbors, Kuwait and Iran, has used weapons of mass destruction in those attacks, particularly against Iran, and finally, has used weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons, against her own citizens; and you top that off with a well-known affection for terrorism and identification with terrorist groups, and I think you, in Iraq, have a special case. On North Korea, on the other hand, you've got a country, which has had a rough equilibrium or stability on the peninsula for about 50 years. We are engaged with our allies, particularly the Republic of Korea and Japan, trying to bring about a betterment of the situation, and they're involved in normalization of their own relations with North Korea; and finally, since 1987, in the bombing of the Korea Airline, we have not had a North Korea which has been associated with terrorism for some time, so they're kind of different. QUESTION: [Every month, Hussein may be getting closer to weapons of mass destruction. What is the timetable for taking action and when does it become too late?] DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, if we get a UN Security Council resolution, and we look to that in a matter of a week or two if we are successful, then the inspections themselves will take a matter of some months, and that's a gamble that we're willing to take. What we said publicly is that we know that Saddam Hussein has chemical weapons, he's used them; we know about his biological weapons programs; and in the nuclear equation, left to his own devices, with no fissile material, by the end of the decade, he'll have a nuclear weapon. But if fissile material is provided to Saddam Hussein, he'll have a nuclear weapon within a year, so I'd say the year is the outside timetable. QUESTION: [Thank you.] DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Not at all, Mr. Sykes. Thank you. [End] (end transcript) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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