Iraq Says Bush Speech Is ‘Old ‘Lies’

Washington says it would prefer the Security Council to back military action against Saddam but that there are ample legal grounds for it to go ahead alone if its allies remain reluctant to explicitly sanction force. The council was due to convene at 11:30 a.m. to discuss a report this week by weapons inspectors on what they had found in 60 days of scouring Iraq for banned arms and the obstruction they had encountered along the way.

RUSSIA STILL SKEPTICAL
Russia, one of five countries with veto powers on the 15-member Security Council, said Wednesday it saw no grounds for the use of force, after earlier signaling it might be prepared to adopt a tougher line against Saddam.
European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana hailed Bush’s intelligence offer but said the United Nations should be the "center of gravity" for decision-making on Iraq. In the United States, however, the speech seemed to have convinced more people of the need for war, with a CBS poll showing support for military action to remove Saddam up 10 percent to 77 percent. And Britain, which Tuesday echoed the U.S. in saying Iraq was in "material breach" of the latest U.N. disarmament demands, again backed up its transatlantic ally."For 12 years Saddam has been saying in effect the check is in the post," Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman told a news briefing, saying Bush had set out his case "very eloquently."Friday, Bush meets Blair to discuss strategy ahead of another key report by the inspectors on Feb. 14.

IRAQ SEES NOTHING NEW
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz denied Bush’s allegation that his country had links with al Qaeda. "I absolutely deny that. I absolutely deny that," Aziz said in an interview on ABC News. "And I challenge Bush and his government to present any, any evidence of that."
Iraqi lawmakers also denounced Bush’s address."There is nothing new in Bush’s speech. The new thing is that he reiterates old lies," Abdul Aziz al-Jebouri, a prominent legislator, told Reuters at the parliament in Baghdad. Bush said Iraq had threatened to kill scientists who fully cooperated with the inspectors and that secret communications and statements from suspects in custody showed Saddam "aids and protects terrorists," including members of al Qaeda.
Iraq had not accounted for 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, which he said could kill millions, and materials that could used to make as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve gas. "It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that that day never comes," he said.
The United States would ask the Security Council to reconvene on February 5 to hear new intelligence findings he said would show Saddam had systematically violated U.N. agreements that he should give up weapons of mass destruction. "Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world," Bush said. Monday, weapons inspectors led by Swedish diplomat Hans Blix told the Security Council Iraq was not fully cooperating with them and dragging its feet in meeting their demands. Many U.S. allies have called for the inspectors to be given more time to work in Iraq and Tuesday Blix said he would welcome this if the U.N. Security Council offered it but that he could probably not complete the job even with a few more months. "I don’t want to raise any expectations," Blix said in an interview with Reuters television. U.S. forces are assembling in the Gulf region and are expected to be ready for combat next month. "If war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the United States military — and we will prevail," Bush said.