US Attacks Chavez' Iraq VisitThe United States has attacked plans by Venezuela's newly re-elected President Hugo Chavez to visit Iraq.The Venezuelan leader, currently on a 10-nation tour of oil-producing states, is due to meet Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Thursday. "We think it's a rather dubious distinction to be the first democratically elected head of state to go meet the dictator of Iraq (since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait)," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. He suggested that Mr Chavez' trip also contravened UN political sanctions, as the Venezuelan leader had not sought advice from the UN sanctions committee before his visit. |
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