BY MEGAN ARNEY
Washington is once again stepping up its threats to launch a
bombing assault against Iraq. After several dozen "surprise
arms inspections" within a 48-hour period, the United Nations
"inspectors" were refused access to the headquarters of Iraq's
ruling Baath Party December 9. Washington immediately began
wailing about Iraqi non-compliance with the UN snoops searching
for "weapons of mass destruction."
At about the same time, on December 8, the Clinton administration made an open appeal for support among regimes in Arab countries for its campaign to overthrow the government of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. government provoked the latest crisis, as it did all previous ones, with its blatant disregard for Iraqi sovereignty. Iraqi radio reported that the UN "inspectors" attempted to enter the party's headquarters "in a provocative manner...without previous announcement."
Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid told a news conference that the inspectors are deliberately seeking a confrontation. He added that Baghdad had agreed February 23 to allow inspections, but the United Nations also agreed "to respect the security, integrity, and legitimate concerns of the Iraqi government," which included prior notice on some sites like the ruling party headquarters. "The practice of the inspectors... have the clear goal of creating crises and problems," stated Iraqi Gen. Hossam Amin.
With imperial arrogance, Richard Butler, chief of the UN operation in Iraq, retorted that Baghdad's request of prior notice and a list of items to be searched was "completely illegitimate, absolutely wrong, and of course we did not do it."
Today, about 200 UN inspectors are probing many sites supposedly on the lookout for "weapons of mass destruction." On December 8 alone, the U.S.-led snoops conducted 32 similar "searches." These provocative raids were imposed on the Iraqi people since the end of the U.S.-led slaughter in Iraq in 1991. A draconian economic embargo, also imposed on Iraq since 1990, has resulted in the deaths of more than a million people.
Baghdad's latest refusal to allow an intrusive search is the first since Washington came within hours of launching a massive bombing assault against Iraq November 14. Baghdad then agreed to allow United Nations snoops access to its territory. But the White House has repeatedly stated it remained ready to strike if the inspectors were refused any and all access to Iraqi territory.
"If Iraq does not live up to its obligations...we have the forces in the region to respond," said White House spokesman David Leavy December 9. Washington's armada includes: 23,000 U.S. soldiers, nearly 200 aircraft, and 23 Navy ships already in the Arab-Persian Gulf. A second aircraft carrier reportedly arrived in the region at the end of November.
In addition, U.S. national security advisor Sandy Berger reiterated December 8 Washington's willingness to use "effective force, if necessary" to remove Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Berger said in a speech at Stanford University that the use of sanctions to squeeze the Iraqi regime into submission is not sustainable in the long-term. "The longer this standoff continues," he stated, "the harder it will be to maintain the international support we have built for our policy. Even the toughest of all sanctions regimes in history becomes harder to sustain over time."
Berger's speech followed one by U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright at Emory University. She said U.S. government policy of "containment" of Iraq has changed to one of "containment plus regime change."