Iraq Calls for Stronger Arab Stand Against US Threat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 30, 2002

Iraq Calls for Stronger Arab Stand Against US Threat

Visiting Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan here on Thursday urged Arab countries to take stronger stand against possible US military actions against his country.

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Visiting Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan Thursday urged Arab countries to take stronger stand against possible US military actions against his country.

Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting of the Syrian-Iraqi Economic Cooperation Committee, Ramadan said Iraq hopes that the Arab position should be more explicit and serious to make the enemy "think twice before undermining the Arab nation."

Meanwhile, Ramadan, who arrived in Syria on Tuesday, dismissed as useless the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq to solve the Iraq issue, saying it would not stop the United States from launching a military strike on his country.

He noted that what the US administration really wants is to change the Iraqi government, adding the Iraqi people has been well prepared for the US military threat as they have had good experiences in the past 12 years to deal with the threat.

Iraq has been under UN sanctions since its invasion of neighboring Kuwait in 1990. UN arms inspections are part of the sanctions to ensure Iraq could not possess weapons of mass destruction, but the inspectors withdrew from Iraq ahead of US-led bombing raids on Baghdad in 1998.

Ramadan's visit is part of Iraq's massive diplomatic maneuvers to rally support in the Arab world against US threats to attack Iraq for a "regime change."

US President George W. Bush, accusing Iraq of pursuing weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorism, has repeatedly vowed to achieve a "regime change" in Iraq with all the tools at his disposal, including military actions.

US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday called for preemptive strikes against Iraq, saying the United States and its allies can not risk inaction on the issue.

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