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The Iraqis are, of course, completely within their rights to refuse the return of weapons inspectors into their country. Such would be a violation of their national sovereignty, and would most likely be used the same way they were used the last time they were in Iraq, ie. as a spy agency for the U.S. and Israel. Tuesday November 27 11:57 AM ET U.S. Warplanes Strike Southern Iraq 'No-Fly' Zone By Charles Aldinger WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes on Tuesday attacked an air defense target in southern Iraq in response to continuing Iraqi threats against American and British jets patrolling a ``no-fly'' zone there, the Defense Department said. The announcement, which came as Baghdad rejected a call from President Bush to allow U.N. arms inspectors back into Iraq, said only that an air defense ``command and control system'' had been struck. The U.S. military's Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, said damage assessment was incomplete and that all aircraft had returned safely to their bases near Iraq. It was the first such attack by U.S. or British aircraft in the southern zone since Oct. 13. Western jets have conducted dozens of attacks against Iraqi targets in no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq in the past decade. The zones, which are not recognized by Baghdad, were set up after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from attack by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's military. ``This action was taken to reduce the threat to the coalition aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone and has no connection with 'Operation Enduring Freedom''' in which U.S. forces are fighting against the Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas in Afghanistan, the Central Command said. Tuesday's attack, which occurred at about 3:15 a.m. Washington time (0815 GMT), came a day after Bush urged Saddam to let U.N. weapons inspectors back into his country to determine whether he was building weapons of mass destruction. In Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday rejected that call. ``Anyone who thinks Iraq can accept an arrogant and unilateral will of this party or that, is mistaken,'' an Iraqi government spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency. After having expelled the weapons inspectors in December 1998, Iraq rejected a U.N. resolution adopted in December 1999 calling for the suspension of U.N. sanctions if it allowed the inspectors to return. ``As for Mr. Saddam Hussein, he needs to let inspectors back into his country to show us that he is not developing weapons of mass destruction,'' Bush told reporters on Monday amid speculation that Iraq could be the next target in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Asked what would happen if Saddam refused, Bush replied: ''He'll find out.'' ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
