He accused Unscom of having an intelligence-gathering objective. He said more than 20,000 Iraqis were dying every month because of the embargo against Iraq, perpetuated, he said, by Unscom.

Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV interview

Mr Al-Mukhtar, first of all, how do you view US President Bill Clinton's accusation that the recent Iraqi decision violates of Iraq's international commitments?

I will answer by saying it was the US FBI and not the Iraqi Government which accused the UN Special Commission, particularly Scott Ritter and Richard Butler, of co-operating with Israel and 40 other countries and of exchanging information with them on Iraq and its security.

This is enough to make one lose trust in Unscom and say that it has violated the letter and spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which defines its mission and prevents it from violating Iraqi sovereignty and threatening Iraq's national security.

That's why the US president's statements are a clear and barefaced falsification of the facts .

Unscom serves intelligence objectives

Do you think that the FBI reports, which you mentioned, can be taken as cogent proof, which the UN Security Council could take into consideration, that these teams work as spy networks for other countries, for Israel and the United States?

Yes. This is because Iraq has documented these facts over the years in a series of memorandums that were submitted to the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council.

These facts caused many crises between Iraq and the Unscom.

The core of these accusations is that Unscom serves intelligence objectives and collects data that has nothing to do with disarmament in Iraq.

That's why FBI and US press reports confirm what Iraq has been saying.

We were expecting the UN Security Council to take these facts into consideration and reconsider the formation of Unscom and open the door to an easy co-operation between Iraq and a new Unscom that would be free of spies.

Issue affects fate of Iraqis

But this is not the first time that Iraq has asked to change the composition of Unscom and requested the dismissal of Richard Butler and the setting of a timetable for lifting the sanctions. But there was no response by either the UN or the UN Security Council. Do you expect a response this time, and if so why do you expect such a response?

There is a major fault in the composition of the UN Security Council because it submits to US pressure.

Iraq has been patient over the years in the hope that the UN Security Council will review its stand and reconsider the composition of Unscom.

The issue concerns the fate of the Iraqi people.

More than 20,000 Iraqis die every month as a result of Unscom's reports, which perpetuate the embargo.

Iraq cannot show more flexibility as this flexibility greatly harms the Iraqi people and threatens Iraqi sovereignty.

That's why we have lost patience, and why we have reached the end of the road.

Either the composition of Unscom is reconsidered to make it an unbiased body or this door will be closed and we will defend ourselves with legitimate means.

Mr Salah al-Mukhtar, political analyst from Baghdad, thank you very much.