-Caveat Lector- >From http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=198577&contrassID= 1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0
w w w . h a a r e t z d a i l y . c o m Report: U.S. willing to push for weapons inspectors in Iraq A British newspaper reported over the weekend that the American administration has changed direction in its policy on Iraq and Saddam Hussein and is willing to use diplomatic pressure ahead of any military action. According to the Financial Times, http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer? pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028185828129&p= 1012571727092 the Bush administration's new strategy involves agreing to push Iraq to accept renewed United Nations weapons inspections, a move it believes will illustrate Saddam Hussein's unwillingness to cooperate and reinforce the need to topple him. The paper quoted an administration official as saying that the strategy is to "press to have the inspectors go back in with unimpeded access until people appreciate as we do almost uniformly that he is never going to let that happen." According to the report, President George W. Bush's "new stress on diplomatic activity" proves the administration's growing awareness that other nations, well as senior figures in the U.S., require further convincing of the need to oust Saddam. "I am aware that some very intelligent people are expressing their opinion about Saddam Hussein and Iraq. I'll listen carefully to what they have to say," Bush told reporters over the weekend. Sharon aide: No point in waiting A top aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Saturday that, while Israel was not seeking to dictate the timing of a U.S. military campaign but warned that, faced with the threat, Saddam was fast developing weapons. "Any postponement of an attack on Iraq at this stage will serve no purpose," Ra'anan Gissin told The Associated Press. "It will only give him [Saddam] more of an opportunity to accelerate his program of weapons of mass destruction." Israeli intelligence officials have gathered evidence that Iraq is speeding up efforts to produce biological and chemical weapons, said a top aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday. Among the evidence of Iraq's weapons building activities, Israel points to an order Saddam gave to Iraq's Atomic Energy Commission last week to speed up its work, Ra'anan Gissin said. "Saddam's going to be able to reach a point where these weapons will be operational," he added. Ha'aretz reported in its print edition Friday that Israel is pressing the U.S. not to defer action aimed at toppling the regime in Iraq. According to the Ha'aretz report, Sharon has sent messages to the U.S. administration in recent days saying that postponing the Iraq operation "will not create a more convenient environment for action in the future." But Sharon added that Israel would support any American action, and would respect U.S. decisions regarding the method and the timing. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres sent a similar message Thurday during an interview with CNN television. "The problem today is not if, but when," he said, adding that while attacking now would be "quite dangerous... postponing it would be more dangerous," as "he [Saddam] will have more weapons." But like Sharon, Peres also added a disclaimer, saying he did not want to be seen as urging the United States to act and that America should act according to its own judgment. Israel, he said, "will be a good soldier" in the camp led by President George W. Bush. Sharon has also repeatedly informed Bush that if Iraq were to attack Israel, Israel would respond. During the 1991 Gulf War, the United States effectively prevented then prime minister Yitzhak Shamir from retaliating against Iraqi missile strikes by refusing to give it the "friend-foe" codes required to keep U.S. and Israeli planes from shooting at each other. But in closed discussions recently, Sharon told associates that he had a clear understanding with the United States that this time, if Saddam were to attack, Israel would be allowed to exercise its right to self-defense. However, he added, the Israeli response would be closely coordinated with the Americans - and, as he told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee earlier this week, it would not be automatic. A senior government source explained: "If we are talking about a single missile that falls in the middle of the Arava [Desert], far from the major population centers, or into the sea, it is hard to believe that we will respond." But if missiles strike Israeli cities, as they did during the Gulf War, Sharon told the committee, "we cannot sit with folded hands." During the 1991 Gulf War, in which U.S.-led strikes pushed back an Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait, Iraq hit Israel with 39 Scud missiles - none of them with chemical or biological warheads - causing few casualties but extensive damage. In the 1991 conflict, the United States worried it would lose Arab support if Israel retaliated for the strikes, and under heavy pressure Israel reluctantly agreed to hold back. By Ha'aretz Staff and Agencies /hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=198577 close window ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; I don't believe everything I read or send (but that doesn't stop me from considering it; obviously SOMEBODY thinks it's important) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
