-Caveat Lector- From http://www.bridge.com/com/newswindow.asp?storyid=AIQMLSJT
U.S. Lawmakers in Iraq to Probe War Consequences 27-Sep-2002 9:12:48 GMT By Huda Majeed Saleh BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three U.S. congressmen arrived in Iraq Friday to assess the humanitarian situation after a decade of sanctions and urge Baghdad to give weapons inspectors unfettered access to avoid war. "We came over here because we do not want war. We want to see what the circumstances are for the Iraqi people and to see what the consequences of another war might be," Washington Democratic Representative Jim McDermott told reporters at Saddam airport in Baghdad. McDermott was accompanied by his Democratic colleagues, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. "Our desire is that Mr. (Saddam) Hussein allow unfettered inspections, we do not want any question about that because we want this to be peacefully and diplomatically resolved," McDermott added. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, under intense world diplomatic pressure backed by the threat of U.S. military action, agreed last week to allow U.N. weapons inspectors back without conditions after an absence of nearly four years. The United States, whose declared policy is to seek the Iraqi leader's removal, treated the move with disdain, saying Saddam could not be trusted, and vowed to work for a tough new U.N. resolution on Iraq. U.N. inspectors were imposed on Iraq after a U.S.-led coalition ejected Baghdad's invasion forces from Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War. The inspectors, saying their work was being obstructed by Iraq, left in December 1998 on the eve of a U.S. and British bombing campaign and have not been allowed since. NO INTEREST IN WAR McDermott said the United States should try to defuse the crisis with Iraq through diplomatic and peaceful channels. "We want every diplomatic effort made to resolve this without war. We have no interest in having war," McDermott said. "We want our administration to pursue every avenue before. War has to be the last option and the United States, I think our opinion is, we do not think it should make the first strike ever," he added. Iraq has been under crippling U.N. sanctions for more than a decade. The United States and Iraq severed relations shortly before Washington led a coalition of forces that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. He said the State Department knew about their visit to Iraq. "We talked to the State Department before we came and we have the necessary document. So we are perfectly within our rights." Asked if they were invited by the Iraqi government, McDermott said: "No. Organizations in the United States, the Church Council in Seattle, and the Life Foundation in Michigan are non-profit groups that wanted us to come over and look at the humanitarian situation here in Iraq," he said. The visit was the second in several years by U.S. lawmakers. U.S. Representative Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat, visited Baghdad on September 14 in a bid to avert a second devastating Gulf conflict. CONGRESS PROPOSES IRAQ ATTACK TEXT Congressional leaders circulated a draft resolution on Thursday that authorizes the use of military force against Iraq, if the White House determined further diplomatic efforts would not adequately protect the United States from threats posed by Baghdad. Senate Republicans emerged from a closed caucus voicing strong backing for the proposal, but Senate Democrats said they wanted changes to more strictly define President Bush's powers to launch a military strike on Iraq. A number of Senate Democrats have said they may propose amendments or alternative resolutions to ensure that Bush waited for the United Nations to work to enforce its resolutions before authorizing a U.S. military strike. In the House a group of moderate Democrats are pushing for language calling for another attempt at stronger, coercive weapons inspections in Iraq. Other Democrats are opposed to a potential war, saying Bush has not shown an imminent threat that justifies a first strike. One House Democrat said he has heard 50 or 60 of his colleagues will vote against the resolution, which is expected to clear both chambers by substantial margins. (C) Reuters 2002. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. 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