16 February 2003
White House Official Says UN Must Enforce Iraqi Disarmament
(Iraq continues to deceive, not cooperate, says Rice) (720) By Howard Cincotta Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The UN Security Council must enforce the provisions of Resolution 1441 calling for "serious consequences" if Iraq does not immediately and fully disarm its weapons of mass destruction, according to White House National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Appearing February 16 on NBC's Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday, Rice argued that nations calling for more time are playing into Saddam Hussein's hands. "He's played this game before," she said on Fox News Sunday. "He will continue to try to deceive, and he will continue to try to split the Council." Sooner or later, according to Rice, the United Nations will have to conclude that Iraq has failed its final opportunity to comply. "The Security Council is going to have to act," Rice said, "or the United States will have to act with a coalition of the willing." This has not been a three-month process, as some have suggested, Rice said, but a road that the world has traveled for 12 years since the 1991 Gulf War. "It's time for this to end," she said on Meet the Press. "Enough is enough." Rice said that the United States is discussing language for another UN resolution, but stressed that any new resolution cannot be another delaying tactic, but reaffirm the provisions of 1441. On Meet the Press, Rice said, "If you want a peaceful resolution to this crisis, the way to get it is not to take the pressure off Saddam Hussein, not to give him the view that he can somehow continue to play cheat and retreat, but to let him know that the Security Council is going to stand united this time, it is going to enforce its resolutions this time, and that he'd better comply and disarm or the world will disarm him." Rice contended that inspectors are in Iraq only because the Security Council, prodded by President Bush's September 2002 speech, has put enormous pressure on Iraq. "If that pressure releases," she said, "I can assure you that we are not going to get to a peaceful solution." Rice denied that the current inspections process is working. Iraq filed a false declaration in December, she pointed out, and UN weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei continue to call for greater cooperation. "They give a little bit here on process, a little bit there to show that a few people can be interviewed in a hotel, which is clearly monitored," Rice said on Fox News Sunday. "But when it comes to answering the tough questions about VX or anthrax, or those mobile biological laboratories, the Iraqis have failed to do that. So they're not cooperating, they're deceiving." Rice said that the weekend protests against a possible war demonstrate the freedom of expression denied to the Iraqi people. "These are people who are tortured, who are beaten, whose tongues are cut out for saying anything against the government." Questioned about evidence that Iraqis are cleaning up weapons sites prior to inspections, Rice said that the U.S. had sources confirming Iraqi efforts to frustrate and deceive the inspectors. She also said that the U.S. is continuing to provide UN inspectors with "the highest priority intelligence that they can act on." However, she said on Meet the Press, "Intelligence is not a substitute for Iraqi cooperation. Let's remember that the purpose of 1441 was not for the world to prove that Saddam Hussein did or did not have weapons of mass destruction. It was for Saddam Hussein to come clean, have one final opportunity to do what the countries do when they want to come clean, which is to say to the world, 'Here's what I have. Come in, inspect it, verify.'" Looking ahead to a post-Saddam era, Rice said that, if force is necessary, the United States will maintain the territorial integrity of Iraq, provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, and work to ensure peace and security in the region. "The Iraqi people," she said, "having been liberated from Saddam Hussein, have a chance to build a better future." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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