Saddam Vows to Defeat US Attack, Hopes War Avoided

05/09/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: "We'll Fight them in a Way that Will Please You (Arabs) & Annoy (the) Enemies," Saddam||Arab Ministers & Parliamentarians, Meeting in Cairo & Baghdad Respectively, Oppose Threats of Military Action Against Iraq & Call for Lifting of U.N. Sanctions on the Arab Country|| " World Must Know that Saddam is Duping the World by Developing Weapons of Mass Destruction," Bush||U.S. Allies Wary of Unilateral Action||Iraqi Envoy Warns Britain of Gravity of War|| STORY: President Saddam Hussein said Wednesday Iraqis did not want a war but vowed his nation would defeat any U.S. military action to oust his government.

"Your brothers in Iraq wish that God would spare them evil and avoid fighting," Saddam told a group of Arab parliamentarians gathered in Baghdad to show their opposition to a possible U.S. military strike.

"(But) if God chooses that we have to fight, we won't disappoint you," he said. "We will fight them in a way that will please you and annoy (the) enemies."

He did not elaborate.

Saddam said earlier that Iraq wanted an overall solution, based on U.N. Security Council resolutions, to its crisis with the United States which is centered on alleged production of weapons of mass destruction.

"We want a comprehensive solution that leads to the lifting of the sanctions according to the Security Council resolutions," Iraqi television quoted Saddam as saying at talks with Yemeni speaker of parliament Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Hussein al-Ahmar.

Arab Foreign Ministers & Parliamentarians Hold Talks in Cairo & Baghdad Respectively

Hoping to find a way out of the Iraq crisis, Arab ministers meeting in Cairo urged Baghdad on Wednesday to negotiate a return of weapons inspectors and warned Washington that an attack to oust Saddam Hussein would spark unrest across the Middle East.
The foreign ministers from the 22-member Arab League opened a two-day meeting Wednesday to discuss Iraq and other issues.
"The critical challenge that's facing us now is the threat directed at Iraq," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told the ministers. "This constitutes a danger for the stability of the entire region
Moussa urged Iraq to work with the United Nations to resolve problems, starting with the return of the weapons inspectors and moving from there to Iraq's demands that U.N. sanctions be lifted and its territorial integrity be guaranteed.
Speaking at the end of the evening session, Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri said the Arab ministers "are in consensus" in objecting to a U.S. strike against Iraq, a stance he said would be reflected in a final statement to be issued Thursday.
He dismissed comments made by President Bush earlier Wednesday that Saddam was a serious threat.



More than 100 MPs from all Arab states except Kuwait and Saudi Arab capped a meeting in Baghdad Wednesday by opposing the threat of U.S. military action against Iraq and calling for lifting U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

BUSH: SADDAM DUPING THE WORLD

President Bush has made "regime change" in Baghdad a priority and his administration has used the last few weeks to set out its case for military action against Saddam, whom it accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction.

Bush said Wednesday he would call on world leaders next week at the United Nations to recognize that Saddam is duping the world by developing weapons of mass destruction.

Bush to Seek Congress, World Support on Iraq

President Bush announced a campaign on Wednesday to convince skeptics at home and abroad that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's "outlaw regime" was developing weapons of mass destruction and needed to be disarmed
Bush, who briefed leading U.S. lawmakers, said he would lay out his plans to deal with the Iraqi leader in a speech at the United Nations next week and in consultations with the leaders of Britain, Russia, China, France and Canada.

Amid growing concerns from world capitals of a U.S. war with Iraq, the White House reiterated that Bush had made no decision on whether to use military force to overthrow Saddam, accused by Washington of developing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Congress Could Pass Resolution on Iraq within Weeks

Congress could pass a resolution on US military action against Iraq within weeks, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said.
"We will have addressed this issue prior to the time we leave. That is a possibility," Daschle told reporters after meeting with President George W. Bush.

Congress is due to end its session October 5, giving lawmakers time to return to their home states for the November congressional elections.

"It would be possible that Congress would be asked to pass a resolution before the end of the (congressional) year," he said.

Senate Minority Leader, Republican Trent Lott, agreed a resolution could come as early as October.

Allies Wary of Unilateral Action

U.S. allies, Muslim countries and many other nations are wary of any unilateral action, demanding a U.N. role in clarifying Iraq's capabilities and intent, and in authorizing any attack should that effort fail.

U.S. officials said Bush was weighing a new form of U.N. weapons inspections, and confirmed a report that Washington was considering "coercive inspections" with foreign troops shooting their way into sites if necessary.

The European Union said it agreed with the United States on a push to return weapons inspectors to Iraq but warned any action against Baghdad should be through the United Nations.

Iraqi Envoy Warns Britain of Gravity of War

The implications of a U.S. and British-led war on Iraq have not been fully considered, Iraq's ambassador to Britain was quoted as saying on Thursday.

"The way wars are presented these days makes it sound like a trip to Legoland," Mudhafar Amin told The Times newspaper.
"In reality, it will lead to the destruction of my country and the death of thousands of people. I can't bear the thought of it."

Amin, the only accredited Iraqi diplomat in London, said he was amazed the British government could even consider a conflict with Baghdad when most of its citizens opposed it.

PHOTO CAPTION

(Top: L) U.S. President George W. Bush makes remarks about education in the East Room of the White House, September 4, 2002. The president briefed congressional leaders earlier in the day about the Administration's position with Iraq. REUTERS/Larry Downing
- Sep 04 9:55 PM ET

(Top: R) Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark addresses a press conference September 4, 2002 in Washington to announce a campaign for an anti-war protest against plans to attack Iraq. REUTERS/Mike Theiler
- Sep 04 5:20 PM ET

(Bottom: L) Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, right, meets with Yemen's Parliament Speaker Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Hussein al-Ahmar in Baghdad Wednesday Sept. 4, 2002. (AP Photo/ INA)
- Sep 04 2:27 PM ET

(Bottom: R) Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, right, receives a gift by the delegates of the Arab Parliamentary Union at the end of a two-day meeting in Baghdad, showing solidarity with Iraq over US threats to oust Saddam. At center is Sudan's Ahmed Ibrahim al-Taher, head of the parliamentary Union. (AP Photo/ INA)
- Sep 04 1:48 PM ET