Iraq Strikes Back Against US Plans of Toppling Saddam

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, June 23, 2002

Iraq Strikes Back Against US Plans of Toppling Saddam

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In the face of fresh plans by the United States to topple the Iraqi regime headed by President Saddam Hussein, Iraq has steadfastly struck back and meanwhile cranked up the decibels of its ongoing diplomatic campaign to fend off any possible U.S. military onslaught.

Iraq's National Assembly (parliament), in a statement on Thursday, called on the chairmen of Arab, European parliaments, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to expose the hostile U.S. plans against Iraq.

The National Assembly urged them to take measures "to foil the evil and hostile U.S. aims which represent an interference in Iraq's internal affairs and a violation of the sovereignty of a member state of the United Nations."

In its Wednesday's session, the Nations Assembly vowed to contact Arab and other countries' parliaments "to expose the hostile U.S. plans against Iraq and its leadership."

While rallying support from the international community, Iraq has shrugged off the U.S. plans as "nothing new."

"It is nothing new," Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told reporters on Monday when asked to comment on a Washington Post report that the United States is planning to overthrow Saddam, who has ruled Iraq since 1979.

According to the Washington Post report on Sunday, U.S. President George W. Bush has ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to undertake a comprehensive and covert program to overthrow Saddam this year, including authority to use lethal force.

The report said the CIA had been authorized to use all possible means, including the possible use of U.S. special forces, and kill Saddam if they were acting in self-defense.

The report, though still not confirmed by U.S. officials, could mark a major shift of the U.S. policy vis-a-vis Saddam as the previous U.S. administrations seemed more willing to overset than kill him.

"The U.S. has plotted against Iraq for more than 30 years ... We have resisted attacks for more than 11 years and we have heard many threats," Ahmed said, adding that Iraq was not scared by such threats.

Saddam and his top aides have remained adamant over repeated sabre-rattling by U.S. President Bush, who has branded Iraq as part of an "axis of evil" and strongly warned that Iraq may become the next target of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Moreover, Iraq has continued to make overtures to its former foes such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran as part of its diplomatic drive to avert any possible U.S. military onslaught.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Monday that that it was willing to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Kuwait to resolve the issue of people missing during the 1991 Gulf War.

"Iraq is ready to cooperate directly with the ICRC and Kuwait to discuss the issue of Iraqis and Kuwaitis missing in accordance with the international law," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kuwait maintains that 605 Kuwaitis and other countries' nationals disappeared during Iraq's occupation of the small emirate from August 1990 to February 1991, but Iraq has denied knowledge of the whereabouts of them.

In a fresh sign of the rapprochement between Iraq and Saudi Arabia since March, the two countries have agreed to reopen a border crossing to allow goods to flow into Iraq.

Saudi Arabia has also agreed to allow Iraq to send an ambassador to the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the Saudi city Jeddah.

Meanwhile, Iraq and Iran, the two neighbors who fought a eight- year war, accelerated the process of solving their outstanding issues as they on Tuesday exchanged the remains of 123 soldiers killed in their 1980-1988 war.

Iraq is also picking up steam for a third round of talks with U. N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Vienna from July 3-4, though the two previous rounds of talks with the U.N. chief failed to yield any tangible result.

The talks have hit snags as Annan demanded Iraq re-admit the return of the U.N. arms inspectors, who pulled out of the country before the U.S.-British air war against Baghdad in December 1998.

The Iraqi side maintains that the resumption of arms inspections hinges on the lifting of sanctions imposed since 1990 and the abolishing of the two no-fly zones slapped on Iraq in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War by the U.S.-led Western allies.

Annan has warned that the talks could not go on forever and he hoped the next round of talks would be decisive and lead to the return of the arms inspectors.

Observers believe that it would be a sensible decision for the Iraqi regime to cooperate with the United Nations and allow the arms inspectors back in order to deprive the U.S. of any excuse to unleash attacks under the pretext of Baghdad's rejecting arms inspections and seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction.

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