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Tuesday, 28 January, 2003, 09:35 GMT
Threat of Iraq war grows
![]() Weapons inspectors have been intimidated
The United States has begun a diplomatic and political campaign to persuade the American people and sceptical allies abroad that there is no point in giving Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein any more time to disarm.
And on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the BBC that Iraq was in "material breach" of UN disarmament demands, adding "it is profoundly serious for Iraq". Their comments follow an unexpectedly harsh report to the Security Council by chief United Nations weapons inspector, Hans Blix.
Later on Tuesday, President George W Bush is due to give his crucial annual State of the Union address expected to be dominated by Iraq. His spokesman Ari Fleischer said that the contents of the speech would not amount to a deadline or a "declaration of war" - but the US leader was likely to spell out in broad terms the threat Iraq poses to US interests. The White House has not yet decided what to do next, says the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington, but officials say a decision could come as early as the beginning of next week.
However, Mr Bush has decided to declassify some intelligence material which is said to show Iraq moving and concealing illegal weapons in recent days, in some cases only hours before the arms inspectors have arrived at a site, the Washington Post newspaper has reported. The administration is also planning to release intelligence on Iraq's alleged connections to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, Mr Powell said. 'Opened all doors' UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix told the UN Security Council on Monday that Iraq has so far complied with UN demands only reluctantly and may still possess biological weapons and rockets.
In his report, Mr Blix said Iraq had largely given inspectors prompt access to suspected weapons sites. But, he said: "Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance - not even today - of the disarmament which was demanded of it." Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has insisted Iraq is co-operating, even though it would concentrate on improving such co-operation. "All other aspects of co-operation have been met and we promise to be more forthcoming in the future replying to all their needs in [a] way that will satisfy them," he told Canadian television on Monday. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said his inspectors had found no evidence that Iraq had resumed the nuclear programme it discontinued in the early 1990s.
But Mr ElBaradei said the inspectors needed "a few months" to continue their work, describing this as "a valuable investment in peace". No conclusion The reports represent their assessment of two months of weapons inspections in Iraq, but not - they have stressed - a conclusion on whether Baghdad has weapons of mass destruction.
Other key Council members say the inspections should be allowed to continue. The Security Council will hold closed discussions on Wednesday to consider the next step. The United States has made it clear it would be prepared to go to war without UN backing, if necessary. Britain backs Washington on the issue of Iraq.
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28 Jan 03 | Middle East
27 Jan 03 | Americas
28 Jan 03 | Middle East
27 Jan 03 | Middle East
19 Nov 02 | Middle East
27 Jan 03 | Middle East
27 Jan 03 | Middle East
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