Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=1/29/03

TYPE=INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

TITLE=MOHAMMED ALDOURI

NUMBER=3-512

BYLINE=KATAYOUN BEGLARI

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

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Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammed Aldouri, was interviewed by V-O-A's Persian Services Reporter Katayoun Beglari

Wednesday (1/29/03). The ambassador was asked what he thought of President Bush's State of the Union address.

AMB. ALDOURI: Your President told the Americans and the international community yesterday that he will go to Iraq as the liberator. This reminds me of history. General Maude, who is the British one who came to Iraq as an invader in 1917, he told the people of Iraq, "I am coming here as liberator; I am not a conqueror." So, history has repeated itself after one century.

MS. BEGLARI: This is your view? It's the official view of the Government of Iraq?

AMB. ALDOURI: What is the meaning of: Is this the view of ...

MS. BEGLARI: This is your personal view about President Bush's speech or you talked to the government in Iraq and you're reflecting their opinion?

AMB. ALDOURI: No. I am commenting. Nobody can be convinced that any occupation, any invasion, any war, is for the liberty of other people. I think the people, if they want to liberate themselves, it is up to them to do that, not to ask a foreign power to come to liberate. If they can't liberate themselves, that means they do not want to be liberated by anybody.

So, what is done by Mr. Bush yesterday is not real convincing to anybody in the international community. But we are still awaiting the evidence of next week by Mr. Powell. And this so-called evidence, which is intelligence information, could be handed over to the inspectors. This might help them to do their job in the best way, so they can go there, in the place, and to have this evidence as a concrete thing, as a reality, so they can come here to the United Nations to tell them the truth.

But we are sure, we are confident, that Iraq is clean from any kind of mass destruction weapons. Certainly the goal of Mr. Bush is not mass destruction weapons. Changing the regime for him, yes, it is most important, because he didn't like us. But also the most important one, as I told you two days ago, the oil is the most important goal for Mr. Bush.

MS. BEGLARI: How about terrorism? How about al-Qaida bases in Iraq or Ansar-Islam?

AMB. ALDOURI: These are baseless allegations, and also we are sure that he cannot prove that. This is a simple creation from the intelligence sources of the United States. We know what is al-Qaida. They didn't like us; we don't like them. In the past we have no relationship with them. We cannot work together. We have another ideology, different from them. You know we have a secular ideology, although we are Muslims, although we are practitioners of our religion. But in terms of politics, we are completely different. We have not the same ideology.

So, Mr. Bush is trying to justify the unjustifiable. This is my point of view.

MS. BEGLARI: Thank you very much for the preview to VOA, before even talking to the international press. These exclusive comments are really appreciated. Thank you very much.

AMB. ALDOURI: Thank you.

(End of interview.)

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