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26 January 2003

White House Officials Say Iraq Is Failing to Disarm

(Administration awaiting U.N. weapons inspectors' report) (390)
By Howard Cincotta
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- White House officials said that, while the Bush
Administration is awaiting the report of U.N. weapons inspectors, Iraq
so far has failed to meet requirements for full cooperation in
eliminating its weapons of mass destruction, as called for in U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1441.
In a round of appearances on television news programs January 26,
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and White House Communications
Director Dan Bartlett stressed that the burden of complying with U.N.
demands for unconditional Iraqi disarmament rests entirely with Saddam
Hussein.
Bartlett, appearing on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos,
noted that in 1998 the United Nations stated that Iraq possessed
approximately 30,000 chemical warheads. So far inspectors have found
18. "Where are the other 29,000 or so chemical warheads?" he asked.
"We haven't seen them. He didn't declare them."
Bartlett said, "The inspection process has a very clear goal. It's not
to go on a scavenger hunt to look for a needle in a haystack. It's to
verify that this regime has made the strategic decision to disarm. We
haven't seen that to date."
During his appearance on Fox News Sunday with Tony Snow, Chief of
Staff Card stressed Saddam Hussein's long relationship with terrorist
organizations, including Al Qaeda. "It would be horrible if his
weapons of mass destruction got into the hands of terrorists," Card
said, "no matter what those terrorist organizations are or who they
represent."
Both Card and Bartlett stressed that the United States has made no
decision about the necessity of using force to disarm Iraq, and that
the Administration is looking forward to the report of weapons
inspectors to the Security Council on Monday, January 27.
Card said he is confident that, whether peacefully or through force,
the Iraqi people would welcome freedom from the regime of Saddam
Hussein. "I think the Iraqi people are crying out for liberation and
freedom," Card said. "And I hope that they get it. I hope that they
can get it without war, but it's up to Saddam Hussein."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)