Iraq Weapons Hunter Was Stymied By Albright

United Nations - CIA-Iraq chief weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, whose report cast doubt on Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, was blocked from reaching that same conclusion in 1999-2000 by the Clinton White House.

Before officially joining the CIA weapons hunt earlier this year, Duelfer spent more than 8 years hunting WMD at the United Nations, first for the noted Swede Rolf Ekeus, than the flamboyant Aussie Richard Butler.

Butler, known for his repeated clashes with Iraq officials, was eventually forced out of his U.N. job by the French and Russian ambassadors in June 1999.

Duelfer, succeeded Butler in July 1999, and later resigned in March 2000, when Hans Blix was recruited to carry on the secret Iraqi weapons hunt. During Duelfer's tenure at the U.N., it was the Clinton White House who drove Iraqi policy in the Security Council.

In December 1998, Clinton launched Operation Desert Fox against Iraq. The air attacks against suspected WMD factories and storage facilities grabbed headlines, but in the end, never produced hard evidence that any illegal weapons had been destroyed.

It was at that point, the Clinton White House made a critical decision to "shelve" the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM). UNSCOM was created shortly after Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to uncover Saddam Hussein's secret weapons programs. By 1996, UNSCOM had not only uncovered most of Saddam's hidden programs but had privately come to the conclusion that what else may still remain was not of "signifcant" consequence.

Such a report was being prepared by then UNSCOM chief Rolf Ekeus. But Ekeus, under pressure from the Clinton White House, pulled back and never issued the report. The U.S. felt that if such a report had been sent to the Security Council, the pressure to begin lifting the punishing economic sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait (August 1990) would markedly increase.

That ran contrary to the Clinton White House policy to "get rid of Saddam Hussein."

It was the same policy that drove the White House to abandon its support of U.N.-Iraq weapons inspector Richard Butler. Butler's aggressive attitude towards Iraq, was too strong for the White House. Butler, like Ekeus, began to suspect that most of Iraq's WMD programs had been "moth-balled."

But under pressure from Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Butler publicly "hedged" any official assessments.

National Security Adviser Sandy Berger was known to be "uncomfortable" with Butler. U.S. diplomats at the U.N. privately referred to the Aussie diplomat as an "unguided" missile. Eventually, the Russians and French, looking to resume business ties with the Iraqis, forced Butler to the sidelines.

The only support the State Department gave Butler was a "going away" party at the U.S./U.N. ambassador's residence at the Waldorf Astoria.

With Butler gone, Clinton and Albright decided to push the Iraq weapons issue to the back-burner. Presidential elections were only a year off, and the White House did not want Iraq to emerge as a major campaign issue.

Duelfer, Butler's deputy, was on loan from the State Department. A veteran of the department of political/military affairs, Duelfer, unlike Butler, could be counted on the maintain a low profile and keep Iraq out of the news. He also had a State Department pension to protect.

From July 1999 through March 2000, Duelfer and his U.N. team were essentially put in cold storage by the Clinton administration. Most U.S. intelligence to UNSCOM stopped. No more satellite surveillance, no more USAF U-2 spy flights over Iraq.

Duelfer and company were relegated to their U.N. offices and spent almost the following year analyzing and re-analyzing materials obtained from year's past.

The situation prompted Duelfer to confess to this reporter hat "UNSCOM was imploding" and that the U.N.'s weapons hunt "was no longer on Washington's radar scope."

Duelfer, like his U.N. predecessors, could also find no convincing proof that Saddam had resurrected his secret WMD programs.

In short, the White House decided the "Iraq" problem was to be put on "indefinite hold." Duelfer, growing increasingly frustrated by the White House's moves, eventually turned over the reins to veteran Swedish diplomat Hans Blix, in March 2000.

Blix also became frustrated by the White House's Iraq policy, but then came the 2000 elections and the attacks of 9/11.

What it did not change was one important fact: Saddam no longer had any significant WMD and hadn't for almost 10 years. A fact known to senior officials of the Clinton White House but never publicly acknowledged.

FEBRUARY 1998 : (SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : DALE WATSON'S TESTIMONY : NO MENTION OF CIA BULDING AS TARGET - OPERATION BOJINKA) Although the Clinton security team knew that Operation Bojinka included blowing up the CIA building in Langley, Virginia, it kept this information from the rest of the government. When Dale Watson, chief of the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 1998, he withheld this vital information. He identified Operation Bojinka only as a plot to blow up U.S. air carriers, and assured the senators that the FBI had the situation under control. It is possible that Clinton never received the information about Operation Bojinka, since his lack of interest in national security matters throughout the course of his administration has been noted by many – including his chief political advisor Dick Morris, and his chief "biographer" Joe Klein. February 1998 – the date of the FBI testimony -- is also the month after Monica Lewinsky became a national celebrity. --- "Why Bush Is Innocent and the Democrats Are Guilty (David Horowitz Column)," by David Horowitz, Front Page Magazine, 5/20/02

FEBRUARY 1998 : (LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON SUPPORTING AN IRAQI INSURRECTION IS SIGNED BY BOTH DONALD RUMSFELD & PAUL WOLFOWITZ, WHO WOULD LATER OVERSEE THE TOPPLING OF SADDAM HUSSEIN DURING W BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION) Both Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz signed a February 1998 letter to President Clinton calling on the U.S. to support an Iraqi insurrection. Others who signed the letter... include [future] White House adviser Zalmay Khalilzad, [future] Defense Department officials Douglas J. Feith and Dov S. Zakheim, and [future] State Department officials Richard L. Armitage, John R. Bolton and Paula Dobriansky. - "Old Strategy on Iraq Sparks New Debate; Backers Say Plan Proven in Afghanistan," By Michael Dobbs, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, December 27, 2001; Page A01, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28378-2001Dec26?language=printer

FEBRUARY 1998 : (UK'S TONY BLAIR CONTACTS CLINTON TO DISCUSS RESOLVING THE LIBYA PROBLEM - LIBYA TRYING TO CHANGE ITS PARIAH STATUS - See Asst Sec of State MARTIN INDYK - he was involved in the later meetings between Clinton Admin and Libyan intelligence operative Musa Kusa)--- need to find source again; it was actually a peice written to make Clinton look good...

FEBRUARY 1998 : (BIN LADEN FATWA / DECLARATION) Bin Laden published declaration which included the objective: "To kill Americans and their allies, civilians and military, is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it, in any country in which it is possible to do it."

FEBRUARY 1998 : (BIN LADEN'S INTERNATIONAL FRONT & FATWA, AL-GAMA'AT AL-ISLAMIYYA, EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD, HARAKAT UL-ANSAR) Bin Laden announced the creation of an "international front” against the US. According to a document obtained by the PBS program "Frontline," bin Laden "regards an anti-American alliance with Iran and China as something to be considered.” Bin Laden announces the front as the "World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders." The Front included the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Harakat ul-Ansar (Johnnie Taliban's group), and two other groups. The Front declared its intention to attack Americans and our allies, including civilians, anywhere in the world. By at least February 1998, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad had effectively merged with al Qaeda and joined with al Qa'ida in targeting American civilians. Osama bin LAden issued and signed a 'fatwa' which included a decree to all Muslims:

"...the killing of Americans and their civilian and military allies is a religious duty for each and every Muslim to be carried out in whichever country they are until Al Aqsa mosque has been liberated from their grasp and until their armies have left Muslim lands."
In the same 'fatwa' he called on Muslim scholars and their leaders and their youths to :
"...launch an attack on the American soldiers of Satan."and concluded:
"We- with god's help - call on every Muslim who believes in god and wishes to be rewarded to comply with god's order to kill Americans and plunder their money whenever and wherever they find it. We also call on Muslims... to launch the raid on Satan's US troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them."
When asked in 1998 about obtaining chemical or nuclear weapons he said:
"acquiring such weapons for the defense of Muslims (was) a religious duty"
In an interview aired on Al Jazira (Doha, Qatar) television, he stated:
"Our enemy is every American male, whether he is directly fighting us or paying taxes."

FEBRUARY 1998 : (CLINTON, LATE REPORT ON AVIATION SAFETY & SECURITY) 16 months after enacting the law HR 3539, the Clinton Transportation Department published a "Status Report" on Aviation Safety and Security. In it, the administration claimed the FAA was finally "preparing new rules to verify the backgrounds of airport employees and certify the people at our airport checkpoints." None in Congress or the press condemned the Clinton foot-dragging.

FEBRUARY 1998 : (ANTHRAX : NV : LAS VEGAS CASE : FORESHADOWING IRAQI BIOTERRORISM) FBI arrests two men, including Larry Wayne Harris in Nevada, alleging they are carrying anthrax. They are later cleared.

FEBRUARY 1998 a Friday : (LAS VEGAS ANTHRAX INVESTIGATION) Laboratory test results to determine whether a substance seized [from harris and Leavitt in Las Vegas, NV] was in fact anthrax were delayed Friday. No reason was given. ...Leavitt's attorney, Lamond Mills, said in an interview with CNN in Las Vegas he believes the tests will prove negative. "On Monday, I think the test results will be in and show that it's non-toxic, and they're going to have to stand up and acknowledge that. And their case is going to be flushed," Mills said. -- "Man suspected of having anthrax predicted attack; Harris told talk show Iraqis poised to strike," CNN, February 20, 1998, Web posted at: 10:15 p.m. EST (0315 GMT)

FEBRUARY 1998 : (TJ INFILTRATION OF OUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD; WILL FRANCE BECOME MUSLIM?) "Newsline", a monthly of Pakistan, quoted workers of the TJ as saying that the TJ had many offices in the US, Russia, the Central Asian Republics, South Africa, Australia and France and that many members of the Chechen Cabinet, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, were workers of the TJ and participated in its proselytising activities. . One of them, merely identified as Khalil, said: " It is possible that France may become a Muslim state within my lifetime, due to the great momentum of Tablighi activity there. "

FEBRUARY 5, 1998 : (SUDAN'S INTEL CHIEF ATTEMPTS TO GET US OFFICIALS TO LOOK AT TERRORIST INTEL, BUT CLINTON ADMINISTRATION PAYS NO HEED) On the basis of those two FBI meetings in Washington, Sudan's intelligence chief, al-Mahdi, made a final, almost desperate attempt to reach out to U.S. intelligence officials in order to turn over data on the people and evidence of their planning against U.S. targets in the region. He wrote officially to Williams "…with reference to your meeting with Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim on Sept. 12 and Dec. 5 1997, I would like to express my sincere desire to start contacts and cooperation between our service and the FBI…" The letter was sent at the very moment that Iraq was reaching out to al Qaeda leaders resident in Khartoum. Did al-Mahdi know something serious was amiss in the radical Islamist community he was closely monitoring? Apparently so. He would later recount to Vanity Fair correspondent David Rose in a January 2002 expose that had the FBI come to Khartoum in February 1998 to analyze the data on terrorists Khartoum was actively monitoring, the U.S. embassy bombings would probably not have occurred. - "The Clinton Intel Record
Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

FEBRUARY 9, 1998 : (IRAQ : ARAB LEAGUE ADVOCATES INSPECTIONS TEAMS TO BE CHOSEN BY UN SEC-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN) The Arab League puts forward proposals to end the crisis. It says the inspection teams should be chosen by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Arab bid to solve Iraqi crisis - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 10, 1998 : (REPORT : IRAQ ELUDES POST-GULF WAR INSPECTIONS) A large portion of the 45 BW warheads/bomb containers Iraq acknowledged constructing in the late 1980s are believed to have survived the Gulf War and still elude the UN inspectors. The British Government estimates that the Iraqis still have 30 warheads capable of carrying chemical and\or biological weapons' material. For these warheads and other weapons, Iraq has at least 8,400 liters of Anthrax, as well as 600 tons of chemicals that are sufficient for the production of 200 tons of VX nerve gas -- where a single droplet can kill. - Yossef Bodansky, "The Iraqi WMD Challenge - Myths and Reality," TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM & UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515 , February 10, 1998

FEBRUARY 10, 1998 : (IRAQ'S AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN WISSAM AL ZAHAWIE aka ZAHAWI'S HAS ANOTHER LETTER PUBLISHED IN THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE ; THIS LETTER COMPAINS ABOUT COLUMNIST WILLIAM SAFIRE & THOMAS FRIEDMAN WHO ADVOCATE THAT HUSSEIN SHOULD BE DISARMED BY FORCE) In a letter published in the International Herald Tribune on Feb. 10, 1998, he objected to columns by William Safire and Thomas Friedman that advocated the use of force to disarm Saddam. "The present rabid braying and warmongering will surely serve to stiffen Iraqis' resolve, to increase their hatred of their American tormentors and to rally people around their president," he wrote.- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events , 8/1/03

FEBRUARY 11, 1998 : (IRAQ SUPPORTS RUSSIAN PROPOSAL TO GIVE UNSCOM LIMITED ACCESS TO PRESIDENTIAL SITES) The Iraqi government supports a Russian proposal which would give UNSCOM access to eight presidential sites to carry out one-off inspections. The idea is rejected by both the US and Britain. Iraqi concessions 'unacceptable' - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 13, 1998 : (US AND RUSSIA SPARRING OVER IRAQ AND UN SEC-GENERAL ANNAN'S TRIP TO BAGHDAD) The US insists it will not walk away from stopping Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction, and Russian objections would not prevent use of force. Russia says diplomatic effort should not end before Kofi Annan visits Baghdad. Russia warns US against military action - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 13, 1998 : (IRAQ WMD PROGRAMS) Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs - U.S. Government White Paper, released February 13, 1998

FEBRUARY 14, 1998 : (UK, IRAQ) Robin Cook, then UK Foreign Secretary, first uses the phrase “doing nothing is not an option” with Iraq. This was to become UK government’s position until August 2002.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

FEBRUARY 17, 1998 : (KOFI ANNAN GETS UN SEC COUNCIL APPROVAL FOR A MISSION TO BAGHDAD) Kofi Annan wins Security Council approval for a peace mission to Baghdad but the US reserves the right to disagree with the results. President Clinton says a solution must ensure unfettered access for weapons inspections. Clinton 'prepared to act' - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 19, 1998 : (IRAQI INTELLIGENCE RECOMMENDS BRINGING AL QAEDA LEADER BIN LADEN'S ENVOY TO IRAQ) "On February 19, 1998, about six months prior to the attacks in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi, Iraqi intelligence officials set in motion a plan to bring a senior and trusted bin Laden aide to Baghdad from Khartoum. One of the key Mukhabarat intelligence documents shows that a recommendation was made for "…the deputy director general to bring the [bin Laden] envoy to Iraq because we may find in this envoy a way to maintain contacts with bin Laden." The meetings took place in March 1998. " "The Clinton Intel Record Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

(* My note : Note that this is ONE DAY before UN Sec General Kofi Annan arrives in Baghdad)

FEBRUARY 19, 1998 : (IRAQ : AL QAEDA OPERATIVE VISITS BAGHDAD) Iraqi intelligence plans the trip of a senior al Qaeda operative and trusted bin Laden aide to visit Baghdad. - "The Clinton Intel Record
Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

FEBRUARY 20, 1998 : (IRAQ : UN SEC GEN KOFI ANNAN ARRIVES) Kofi Annan arrives in Baghdad, saying he has a "sacred duty" to try to defuse the crisis. In Jordan, a bystander is killed in clashes between police and a crowd of worshippers demonstrating in support of Iraq. Annan arrives on 'sacred' peace mission - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

FEBRUARY 22, 1998 : (UN SEC GEN KOFI ANNAN MEETS HUSSEIN; MAKES DEAL) The UN secretary general holds a three-hour meeting with Saddam Hussein, and the UN later announces a deal on weapons inspections. The US says it will await Kofi Annan's formal report to the Security Council. US keeps veto option open - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

1998 early : (UN SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN & CLINTON BLUNDER WITH IRAQ) The US acquiesced in a disastrous diplomatic mission by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Baghdad to sign an agreement with Saddam to open disputed "presidential sites" to diplomats if not inspectors. By this time Iraq had a laundry list of places inspectors could not go. Iraq was backing out of even this flimsy agreement before the ink was dry. Washington said almost nothing. Nor did it put muscle behind the embattled chief inspector, Butler, as he was stiffed, insulted and humiliated by the Iraqis. - "Years have been lost, and it isn't all Saddam's fault - The undoing of arms inspections in Iraq," by Barbara Crossette, International Herald Tribune , October 1, 2002
In an effort to keep the operation afloat and avoid another war in Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan cut a deal with Baghdad in early 1998 restricting inspectors' access to eight so-called presidential sites encompassing a total of 12 square miles.The United States and the rest of the Security Council endorsed the plan but, within weeks, the inspectors said they were finding very little other than frustration. After months of cat-and-mouse games, Saddam sent the entire team packing in November 1998.

FEBRUARY 22, 1998 : (BIN LADEN ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF "WORLD ISLAMIC FRONT FOR JIHAD AGAINST JEWS AND CRUSADERS" [CHRISTIANS]) Bin-Laden announces the formation of the “World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and the Crusaders,” merging Egypt’s Jihad Group, the Islamic Group the Ansar Movement of Pakistani and the Bangladeshi Jihad Movement under one umbrella. - Peter L. Bergen, “Holy War, Inc.,” The Free Press, New York, 2001, p. 95*

(* My note : Notice that this is the same time that UN Sec-General Kofi Annan is in Iraq meeting with Hussein)

FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (BIN LADEN CALL FOR JIHAD AGAINST THE US FOR ITS TREATMENT OF IRAQ) Bin Laden called Saudi Arabia's alliance with the U.S. during the Gulf War "treason." He regards the U.S. as guilty of war crimes against Iraqis and believes that non-Muslims shouldn't have military bases on holy sands of Arabia. Bin Laden's Feb. 23, 1998, call for jihad lists three grievances: that U.S. warplanes use bases in Saudi Arabia to patrol the skies of Iraq, that United Nations sanctions have caused grievous suffering in Iraq, and that America's Iraq policy is designed to divert attention from Israel's treatment of Muslims. In short, bin Laden's call to arms reads as if it was issued from Baghdad. --- "THE VISIBLE HAND : The Iraqi Connection : President Bush must win the war his father started," BY RICHARD MINITER, OpinionJournal, Wall Street Journal Online, Monday, September 24, 2001 12:01 a.m. EDT, via http://www.spiritoftruth.org.nz/post_005.htm.

FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (BIN LADEN FATWA DWELLS LONG ON COMPLAINTS ABOUT US TREATMENT OF IRAQ)

FAS Note: The following statement from Usama bin Laden and his associates purports to be a religious ruling (fatwa) requiring the killing of Americans, both civilian and military. This document is part of the evidence that links the bin Laden network to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The original Arabic text of this statement may be found here. (http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm)

Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders
World Islamic Front Statement
23 February 1998
Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin
Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt
Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Egyptian Islamic Group
Shaykh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan
Fazlur Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh
Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book: "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said: I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.
The Arabian Peninsula has never -- since Allah made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas -- been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies spreading in it like locusts, eating its riches and wiping out its plantations. All this is happening at a time in which nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.
No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone:

First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.
If some people have in the past argued about the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it. The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, but they are helpless.
Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, which has exceeded 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.
So here they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.
Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there. The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al-Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said: "As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life."
On that basis, and in compliance with Allah's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims:

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah."
This is in addition to the words of Almighty Allah: "And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? -- women and children, whose cry is: 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"
We -- with Allah's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.
Almighty Allah said: "O ye who believe, give your response to Allah and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that Allah cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."
Almighty Allah also says: "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things."
Almighty Allah also says: "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."

- http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm.
(* My note : Notice that this si the same time that UN Sec-General Kofi Annan is in Iraq)
FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (UN SAYS IT HAS GOTTEN IRAQ'S COOPERATION ON UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO IRAQI SITES) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan secures Iraq's cooperation and unrestricted access to inspectors. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002
FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (IRAQ PROMISES UNRESTRICTED ACCESS - [*AND OFFERS SEASIDE PROPERTY FOR SALE IN ARIZONA]) Iraq promises Kofi Annan unrestricted access for UN inspectors. Back from the brink - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html.(incredibly liberal website)
FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (IRAQ OFFERS ACCESS TO 8 SITES) Iraq offers access to eight “Presidential sites” in Iraq, in a compromise deal.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (KOFI ANNAN ANNOUNCES UN-IRAQ AGREEMENT) Kofi Annan formally announces the agreement in joint news conference with Tariq Aziz. Iraq says it was diplomacy, not sabre-rattling, that helped conclude the agreement. Annan signs deal with Iraq - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998
FEBRUARY 26, 1998 : (IRAQ : WMD : BIOWEAPONS PROGRAM) The New York Times -February 26, 1998 - How Iraq's Biological Weapons Program Came to Light
FEBRUARY 24, 1998 : (FLORIDA, PROFESSOR SAMI AL-ARIAN) At the request of USF President Betty Castor, USF Associate General Counsel Hank Lavendera writes to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking for status of federal investigation.
FEBRUARY 26, 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI) Mr. Chang meets at Old Executive Offfice Building with Bruce Riedel, senior director of the National Security Council for Near East and South Asian Affairs, to discuss his proposal for a dialogue between the United States and Iraq.
FEBRUARY 26, 1998 : (USA : REPUBLICANS POINT OUT THAT CLINTON HANDED OVER US IRAQ POLICY TO UN) American Republicans claim that President Clinton has handed Washington's policy on Iraq over to the United Nations. US:Can Clinton sell Iraqi deal? - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998
FEBRUARY 27, 1998 : (BUTLER ENDORSES THE UN-IRAQ AGREEMENT) Richard Butler endorses the agreement, while Kofi Annan tells UN staff not to be disheartened by criticism of the deal. UN weapons inspector supports Annan's Iraq deal- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

MARCH 1998 : (CLINTON'S TRIP THROUGH AFRICA ARRANGED BY WILSON) - Wilson's bio, http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:TjVOq4W4lssJ:www.cpsag.com/our_team/wilson.html+%22valerie+plame%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

1998 : (CLINTON TRIP TO AFRICA ORGANIZED BY JOSEPH C WILSON) 'One of his [(JOSEPH C. WILSON)] major achievements was organizing President Clinton's historic trip to Africa in 1998.' Which part-the bongos, the dashiki or the cigar smoking? - 7 posted on 07/11/2003 11:31 PM EDT by Wild Irish Rogue

MARCH 1998 : (IRAQI INTELLIGENCE MEETS WITH AL QAEDA LEADER BIN LADEN'S ENVOY, TERROR TALKS EXTENDED FROM ONE WEEK TO TWO) "The initial program to have the terror talks last for one week was extended to two because of the success in whatever nefarious plans were being hatched. The meetings also laid the groundwork for Iraq's former intelligence chief, Farouk Hijazi, arrested last Friday [just before 4-29-2003] in Iraq, to meet with bin Laden in December 1998 in Afghanistan. Press reports also chronicled an earlier meeting between Hijazi and bin Laden in Sudan in 1994." ..."Baghdad, however, was not the only game in town. While Saddam was busy trying to find a formula for embracing and employing al Qaeda's budding global terror network to attack U.S. interests, Sudan was busy trying to alert Western intelligence officials — including those at the National Security Council, the State Department's Terrorism Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency — of the dangers still lurking in Khartoum's sandblasted neighborhoods after bin Laden's May 1996 expulsion. "
..."A brief chronology demonstrates how compelling the Sudan's offer to turn over terrorism data might have been in thwarting attacks on U.S. citizens and assets overseas, and how mendacious a narrow clique of Clinton officials were in not taking advantage of those efforts. " "The Clinton Intel Record Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

MARCH 1998 : (IRAQ : AL QAEDA OPERATIVE VISITS BAGHDAD) The al Qaeda operative visits Baghdad for two weeks. The visit sets the stage for Farouk Hijazi to travel to bin Laden's Afghanistan hideouts in December 1998. - "The Clinton Intel Record
Deeper failures revealed. ," by Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online, 4-29-2003

MARCH 1998 : (IRAQ : BIN LADEN IN BAGHDAD) Bin-Laden reportedly visited Baghdad for consultations . Giovanni De Stefano, an international lawyer visiting Baghdad on business, had a chance encounter with bin-Laden in the lobby of the five star Al-Rashid Hotel during which the two men introduced themselves and engaged in polite conversation. De Stefano did not, at the time, recognize bin-Laden’s name. Five months after the chance encounter, bin-Laden’s suicide bombers attacked the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. - Tom Walker, “Hotel Clue Points To An Iraqi Connection,” Sunday Times (London), September 30, 2001.

MARCH 1998 : (BRAZIL REFUSES TO EXTRADITE GERMAN SCIENTIST KARL-HEINZ SCHAAB FOR SALES TO IRAQ) Brazil's Federal Supreme Court turned down an extradition request for Schaab, saying he was charged with a politically motivated crime, which meant that under Brazilian law, could not be extradited. Schaab had been sought by German authorities since 1990 on charges of selling German uranium enrichment technology to Iraq before the Gulf War.- - "Brazil uranium sales to Iraq stir debate ," by Carmen Gentile, United Press International 9/25/02

MARCH 1998 - MARCH 1999 : (CAROLL, VISA FRAUD CASE IN GUYANA) For 12 months starting in March 1998, Carroll was the officer in the embassy in charge of issuing visas to Guyanese and other foreign nationals. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/699887/posts

MARCH 1998 : (ANTHRAX) United States orders that all troops receive anthrax vaccination.

1998 (Spring) : (ANTHRAX) Canada orders troops in the Gulf to receive anthrax vaccination

MARCH 2, 1998 : (UNSC BLOWS SMOKE) UN Security Council seeks to bolster compromise by passing a unanimous resolution (1154) saying that Iraq’s failure to comply with UN sanctions will have the “most severe consequences”- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

MARCH 2, 1998 : (UN PASSES RESOLUTION 1154) The UN passed Resolution 1154, demanding Iraq compliance and warning that failure to comply would result in the "severest consequences for Iraq." - United Nations, Security Council Resolution 1154 on the Situation Between Iraq and Kuwait, March 2, 1998. May I direct your attention to Operation Desert Fox, the poorly named military campaign begun under President Clinton in December of 1998, against Iraq? What did President Clinton use to justify that fruitless engagement? Resolution 1154, of course. At that time, there was no hue and cry from Democrats in Congress. They supported President Clinton throughout his ineffectual three days of bombing. The general sentiment was not doubt and hesitation, but action and righteousness. - "President Bush's Authorization to Use Force Against Iraq," http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/redirect?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.american-partisan.com%2Fcols%2F2002%2Frazzano%2Fqtr4%2F1009.htm | October 9, 2002 | LPR from "Precedent? I’ll Give You A Precedent," by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano, Dallas Bureau Chief , The American Partisan, October 9, 2002

MARCH 12, 1998 : ( SG/SM/6482 : TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, WASHINGTON D.C., 12 MARCH)

MARCH 9, 1998 : (JOHNNIE CHUNG PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATIONS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS) On March 9, 1998, I [Johnnie Chung] pled guilty to violations of campaign finance laws before Federal Judge Manuel Real. - "Buying access, " by Johnny Chung, WorldNetDaily.com, March 11, 2000

MARCH 1998 4 PM : (JOHNNIE CHUNG CASE : SOME OFFICIAL LEAKED THAT CHUNG WAS COOPERATING WITH THE FBI TO THE NY TIMES) But at 4:00 p.m., before the meeting with Luu took place, my attorney's office received a phone call from the New York Times. Clearly, a high-ranking official had leaked the fact that I [Johnnie Chung]was cooperating with the FBI in order to burn the sting operation. My attorney tried to kill the story for the sake of the operation, but the Times said it would only hold back if FBI Director Louis J. Freeh personally called the paper. Obviously that call never happened. Concerned for my safety, the FBI told me I did not have to go through with the meeting, but I said I would cooperate no matter how dangerous it may be. - "Buying access, " by Johnny Chung, WorldNetDaily.com, March 11, 2000

MARCH 26, 1998 : (IRAQ : UN INSPECTORS & DIPLOMATS BEGIN TWO-WEEK INSPECTIONS OF SOME IRAQI PRESIDENTIAL PALACE SITES) UN weapons experts accompanied by diplomats begin a two-week series of inspections of Iraqi presidential sites. - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

Oops, this should go into the Februay post:

1998 (early) : (UNSCOM, UN SEC GENERAL KOFI ANNAN'S DEAL WITH IRAQ LIMITS INSPECTIONS TO JUST EIGHT PRESIDENTIAL SITES) In an effort to keep the operation afloat and avoid another war in Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan cut a deal with Baghdad in early 1998 restricting inspectors' access to eight so-called presidential sites encompassing a total of 12 square miles.The United States and the rest of the Security Council endorsed the plan but, within weeks, the inspectors said they were finding very little other than frustration. After months of cat-and-mouse games, Saddam sent the entire team packing in November 1998

FEBRUARY 19, 1998 : (IRAQ : TOP SECRET MEMO REFERS TO PLANS FOR AL QAEDA ENVOY'S TRIP FROM SUDAN TO BAGHDAD) One of the pages [found in April 26, 2003 in Baghdad by reporters working for the Sunday Telegraph was], dated Feb. 19, was marked "top secret and urgent" and referred to plans for the trip from Sudan of the unnamed envoy, who is described in the file as a trusted confidant of bin Laden's, the paper said. The document, signed, "MDA," which the newspaper said is a code name believed to belong to the director of one of the Iraqi intelligence sections, said the Iraqis sought to pay for the envoy's costs while in Iraq "to gain the knowledge of the message from bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to bin Laden." The message to bin Laden "would relate to the future of our relationship with him, bin Laden, and to achieve a direct meeting with him," the newspaper quoted the document as saying. The envoy traveled from Khartoum in Sudan to Baghdad in March 1998 and that he stayed at the al-Mansour Melia hotel. - "Intelligence documents reveal Iraq link to al-Qaida, London paper reports (France) " AP via Tribnet , 4/26/02

FEBRUARY 19, 1998 : (IRAQI MUKHABARAT DOCUMENT WRITTEN ON THIS DATE BY THE DIRECTOR OF ON OF IRAQ'S INTELLIGENCE SECTIONS WITHIN THE MUKHABARAT CONCERNING MEETINGS BETWEEN IRAQI OFFICIALS AND AL QAEDA, NOTE INDICATES IRAQ SAW BIN LADEN AS A SAUDI OPPOSITION LEADER - DOES THIS INDICATE BIN LADEN CONTACTED IRAQ FIRST?)

Document 1, dated February 19, 1998
Marked "Top Secret and Urgent" in the margin and signed by "MDA", thought to be the codename for the director of one of the intelligence sections within the Mukhabarat.

"The envoy is a trusted confidant and known by them. According to the above mediation we request official permission to call Khartoum station to facilitate the travel arrangements for the above-mentioned person to Iraq. And that our body carry all the travel and hotel expenses inside Iraq to gain the knowledge of the message from bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to bin Laden, the Saudi opposition leader, about the future of our relationship with him, and to achieve a direct meeting with him."

At the foot of the page, after the signature, the director recommends bringing the envoy to Iraq because "we may find in this envoy a way to maintain contacts with bin Laden". The deputy director general gives a signature of approval.

- Source : 'We'll pay all expenses to gain the knowledge from bin Laden and convey a message back,' (Transcipts of documents linking Iraq to Bin Laden ) The Sunday Telegraph, April 27, 2003

FEBRUARY 20, 1998 : (UK : LONDON : AZZAM ISSUES 'DUA' TO BE READ IN MOSQUES WORLDWIDE CODIFYING THE ROLE OF THE ANTI-AMERICAN JIHAD OVER IRAQ IN CONTEXT OF WORLDWIDE JIHAD) February 20, 1998 saw the beginning of a new theological process: the legitimization and authorization of an all-out terrorist jihad against the West, and not just as a reaction to the ongoing crisis in Iraq. In London the Azzam Organization, the mother organization of "Afghan" and "Bosnian" mujahideen as well as Islamist terrorists within the emigre communities in the West, issued the text of a dua (a prayer-sermon instructing the believer how to answer the call of Islam) to be read in mosques worldwide during the key Friday prayer. This dua codified the role of the anti-American jihad over Iraq in the context of the escalating worldwide jihad. The Azzam Organization reminded the listeners and readers that Prophet Muhammad decreed that "indeed Dua is the weapon of the Believer." - "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America," by Yossef Bodansky, p 233

FEBRUARY 21, 1998 : (IRAQ'S DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE APPROVES MAKING RESERVATIONS FOR AL QAEDA "ENVOY H" AT AL MANSOUR MELIA HOTEL IN BAGHDAD) Document 2, dated February 23, 1998 Addressed to codename "M4/7", marked "Information M4 D1/3/4" and given the number 375 by the Mukhabarat bureaucracy.
"The permission of Mr Deputy Director of Intelligence has been gained on 21 February for this operation, to secure a reservation for one of the intelligence services guest's for one week in one of the first class hotels [the Al Mansour Melia hotel in Baghdad]".
Signed by "M.D. 1/3", next to which is written February 22. In the margin it is written that this has been done in co-ordination with the chief of the Saudi section and that they write to extend the period of host for one more week. A note at the bottom of the page says "The envoy H arrived 5th March". Another note mentions "room 414" next to the name, Mohammed F. Mohammed Ahmed. - Source: Iraqi memo 375 from 'M.D. 1/3' to 'M4/7'

FEBRUARY 22, 1998 : (THIS IS THE DATE OF MEMO 375 ; IT SAYS THAT IRAQI OFFICIALS' ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEETING WITH AL QAEDA "ENVOY H" WERE APPROVED ON FEBRUARY 21) Document 2, dated February 23, 1998 Addressed to codename "M4/7", marked "Information M4 D1/3/4" and given the number 375 by the Mukhabarat bureaucracy.
"The permission of Mr Deputy Director of Intelligence has been gained on 21 February for this operation, to secure a reservation for one of the intelligence services guest's for one week in one of the first class hotels [the Al Mansour Melia hotel in Baghdad]".
Signed by "M.D. 1/3", next to which is written February 22. In the margin it is written that this has been done in co-ordination with the chief of the Saudi section and that they write to extend the period of host for one more week. A note at the bottom of the page says "The envoy H arrived 5th March". Another note mentions "room 414" next to the name, Mohammed F. Mohammed Ahmed. - Source: Iraqi memo 375 from 'M.D. 1/3' to 'M4/7'

FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (IRAQI MUKHABARAT DOCUMENT "INFORMATION M4 D1/3/4" ADDRESSED TO PERSON OR ORG CODENAMED "M4/7" WRITTEN ON THIS DATE CONCERNING MEETINGS BETWEEN IRAQI OFFICIALS AND AL QAEDA INDICATES IRAQI DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE GRANTED PERMISSION FOR IRAQI STAFF TO SECURE HOTEL RESERVATIONS FOR AL QAEDA REPRESENTATIVE "ENVOY H" IN BAGHDAD, INDICATES THIS ORDER WAS CARRIED OUT AND RESERVATIONS WERE ALSO EXTENDED AN ADDITIONAL WEEK)

Document 2, dated February 23, 1998
Addressed to codename "M4/7", marked "Information M4 D1/3/4" and given the number 375 by the Mukhabarat bureaucracy.

"The permission of Mr Deputy Director of Intelligence has been gained on 21 February for this operation, to secure a reservation for one of the intelligence services guest's for one week in one of the first class hotels [the Al Mansour Melia hotel in Baghdad]".

Signed by "M.D. 1/3", next to which is written February 22.
In the margin it is written that this has been done in co-ordination with the chief of the Saudi section [of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the Mukhabarat] and that they write to extend the period of host for one more week.
A note at the bottom of the page says "The envoy H arrived 5th March". Another note mentions "room 414" next to the name, Mohammed F. Mohammed Ahmed.

- 'We'll pay all expenses to gain the knowledge from bin Laden and convey a message back,' (Transcipts of documents linking Iraq to Bin Laden ) The Sunday Telegraph, April 27, 2003

Lots of interesting info here--looks like the guy behind the attack on Butler was none other than Baghdad Bob!

South News updates Jan 23-29

Pentagon contemplating nukes against Iraq
Iraq to go to World Court
Security Council furious with Butler
Clinton delivers social security/war address
Butler tries to wag top dog
Hamdoon warns of options if Iraq attacked

[SNIP]

Iraq to go to World Court South News Jan 29

BAGHDAD: Iraq's foreign minister accused the United States Wednesday of fabricating a crisis as a pretext to attack Iraq, and declared that Iraq was considering taking the issue to the World Court.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf accused the United States of ``pretexts, false pretexts ... to falsely justify a unilateral sheer use of force against Iraq.''He Al-Sahhaf declared that Iraq was considering taking the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. For a case to be heard by the court, the parties must agree to submit to its jurisdiction.

``We are considering suggestions we received from different friends that we should go to the International Court of Justice in order to complain against the American military threats and seek the arbitration and the advice of this international body,'' al-Sahhaf said.

Iraq is considering lodging charges with the World Court in The Hague against states commiting aggression against the Republic of Iraq and causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi nationals. Libya lodged such a complaint last year. US Professor of International Law Francis Boyle has publicly offered to charge US leaders for genocide against the Iraqi people.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf canned Richard Butler, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, for telling The New York Times that Iraq's biological weapons program could ``blow away Tel Aviv.''
and asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to ``punish'' Butler for his remarks.

``Those statements and interviews emphasized again that Mr. Butler is not a neutral expert,'' al-Sahhaf said. ``He is biased and blindly committing mistakes, deadly mistakes.''

In New York, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Nizar Hamdoon, delivered a letter to the Security Council president, France's Alain Dejammet, protesting Butler's comments. The letter complained that Butler had ``violated his own mandate'' by making the comments to reporters and editors of The New York Times.

An official in Butler's office, Gustavo Zlauvinen, said he hadn't seen the letter and couldn't comment. Annan, the U.N. chief, also had no comment at this stage, said spokesman Fred Eckhard.

Security Council furious with Butler South News Jan 28

United Nations: UN envoys of Russia, China and France were furious on Tuesday that chief UN weapons inspector Richard Butler had spoken to the press about matters on which they said he had not yet briefed the Security Council.

Mr Butler was quoted in a newspaper saying Iraq has enough biological weapons to blow away Tel Aviv. That may have been the assessment Mr Butler was giving to the media, but the Russian Ambassador to the UN Sergey Lavrov says he did not pass it along to the Security Council during last Friday's briefing. "No the council hasn't been informed," the Russian envoy said

Council President Alain Dejammet of France said, ``several delegations expressed their preoccupation about press articles which were not, in their opinion, consistent with information made available to the Security Council during its informal consultations by the Special Commission,'' which Butler heads.

The council president said members were aware that ``what is reported in the press does not always coincide with what is supposed to have been said by those who have been in discussion with the press.''

Council members ``exclusively rely upon'' official reports provided by the U.N. secretary-general and the Special Commission, he stressed. Russia and China considered such suggestions went beyond Butler's mandate.

In an interview in Tuesday's New York Times that quoted Butler as saying U.N. inspectors last month believed they were closing in on some computer hard drives containing the records of Iraq's entire program of weapons of mass destruction. But the inspectors were stalled for 20 minutes as they watched from a distance while the old hard drives were replaced with new ones, and then found the equipment only ran computer games.

The council source said the Russian representative also referred to a part of the interview in which Butler was quoted as saying Iraq had enough biological material, such as anthrax or botulin toxin, ``to blow away Tel Aviv.''

This comment, also quoted on Cable News Network (CNN), was said liable to raise tensions at a time when Russian deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Posuvalyuk was in Baghdad for talks aimed at easing the latest crisis resulting from Iraq's refusal to allow U.N. teams access to all suspect sites.

Butler was also quoted in the interview as discussing a range of options that the Security Council might consider, short of a military strike, such as extending the current no-fly zone over Iraq or sealing off the port of Basra to end contraband trade.

Later that day Butler told a group of Jewish American leaders that Iraq had repeatedly failed to give U.N. inspectors information on its missile, biological and chemical weapons programs.

``They seem to have dug in pretty hard, pretty deeply on that policy,'' Butler told a gathering of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella group off 55 national organizations.

Referring to his New York Times ``blow away Tel Aviv.'' comments Butler told the American Jewish leaders, ``it was reasonable for us to extrapolate from what we know'' that Iraq could have that capability.
``I was not saying that I could take you today to a place in Iraq and say, 'there's the missile that could do that thing.''

Clinton delivers social security/war address South news Jan 28

Washington: In his State of the Union address aimed at Middle America, US President Clinton promised increased funding for social security, education and drug law enforcement but warned Iraq not to ``defy the will of the world''.He directed Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to sweep through Europe and the Arabian Gulf in a drive for support of a US military strike.

Clinton said he was speaking for everyone in the House chamber, which included his Cabinet and House and Senate members, in saying to the Iraqi president, ``You cannot defy the will of the world. You have used weapons of mass destruction before. We are determined to deny you the capacity to use them again.''

Clinton said Iraq had spent most of this decade on developing nuclear,chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them instead of providing for his people. Clinton, speaking in the House of Representatives chamber to a joint session of Congress, credited U.N.weapons inspectors for finding and destroying Iraq's arsenal.

"Now, Saddam Hussein wants to stop them from completing their mission. I speak for everyone in this chamber, Republicans and Democrats, when I say to Saddam Hussein: "You cannot defy the will of the world," he said.

Domestically Clinton promised to "balance the budget" next year despite the reality that Pentagon defence expenditures break any budget. Shaken by scandal, President Clinton sought to reassert his Democrat crediblity urging Congress to ``save Social Security first'' before cutting taxes or increasing spending.

``I have a simple four-word answer: save Social Security first,'' the president said. ``Tonight I propose we reserve 100 percent of the surplus -- that's every penny of any surplus -- until we have taken all the measures necessary to strengthen the Social Security system for the 21st century.''

His address was strong on rhetoric but short on programs.

He also called on Congress to support the IMF in the Asian financial crisis. With undergoing a Asian financial crisis, Clinton requested $18 billion to replenish the International Monetary Fund. He also asked for more than $1 billion to pay the U.S. debt to the United Nations.Failure to pay U.N. bills undermines U.S. leadership during the standoff with Iraq, he said.

Clinton also asked Congress to support his decision to keep American troops in Bosnia for an unspecified length beyond their scheduled June withdrawal. ``The progress is unmistakable but it is not yet irreversible,''Clinton said. ``to take firm root, Bosnia's fragile peace still needs the support of American and allied troops when the current NATO mission ends in June.''

Along with Albright's planned trip, Defense Secretary William Cohen is weighing a parallel trip to the Gulf region, seeking backing for a military response in a calculated campaign to put maximum pressure on Iraq. Also, Bill Richardson, the ambassador to the United Nations, plans a weeklong trip to Europe, Africa and Latin America to reiterate the U.S. position.

Clinton, doing some high-level consulting of his own, talked to British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the telephone, the two closely allied leaders agreeing that the situation was serious.

Albright is due to depart Thursday to confer with the French, Russian and British foreign ministers and then go to the Persian Gulf for talks with leaders of Saudi Arabia and possibly Arab countries that are within Iraq's range. .

Cohen could leave as early as next week ``to consult with our friends and allies in the Gulf about possible military action'' against Iraq, said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon.

``The train is leaving the station here,'' Bacon said, adding: ``If diplomacy fails here, we will have to look at different options.''

Butler tries to wag top dog South News Commentary Jan 27

by Dave Muller

Richard Butler on Tuesday joined the growing list of tale spinners to deflect media attention away from the presidential sex scandal to organize a military strike on Iraq. Butler's tall tales read like the plot of the film ``Wag the Dog,'' in which a beleaguered president stages a bogus war with Albania to distract attention from allegations he molested a Girl Scout.

To legitimise the Iraqi threat The New York Times reported today that the head of the United Nations weapons inspection commission said Iraq has enough biological weapons to``blow away Tel Aviv'' . But Butler seems to be putting his foot in his mouth once again reading from outdated pre 1990 scripts when Iraq was said to have threatened to "incinerate half of Israel" if it attacked Iraq with nuclear weapons.

In a sounds familiar rerun of the Gulf war,"Butler also confirmed that inspectors have evidence that Iraq has loaded biological weapons onto missile warheads that could be driven around to avoid being hit by bombs," the NYT reported.

Mr Butler seems to give no credit to UNSCOM destroying any weapons of mass destruction at all. He did not describe the evidence for his claims. But no doubt they being manufactured out on some Hollywood sound stage, just like in the movie as zionist political minders and spin doctors are desperately trying to manipulate the public for a war.

Israel's weapons of mass destruction are seldom cause for concern in the US media.Israel has chemical and biological weapons, and used them just a few months ago in an assassination attempt in Jordan.

While Israel may welcome such a US attack the Arab world is decidately against it with many Iraqis and Palestinians likely to suffer as a result. The Arab League has already rejected the use of force and some members in the Gulf are opposed to a strike similar to the cruise missile attacks against Iraqi targets in September 1996.

Hamdoon warns of options if Iraq attacked South News Jan 27

United Nations: Iraq could stop all cooperation with U.N. weapons experts if the US launches a military strike against Baghdad, Iraq's U.N. ambassador said Monday.

``Obviously if there will be a military action against Iraq, Iraq would have to respond,'' said Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Nizar Hamdoon. ``I think its premature to say right now what Iraq intends to do,'' he said, but added: ``One of the options is to stop cooperation with the Special Commission.''

Diplomats from several countries have warned there is growing concern that military force would backfire. In Cairo, the 22-member Arab League came out Monday against a U.S. strike, urging dialogue and diplomacy to solve the dispute Among the five permanent members of the Security Council, only the United States and Britain have refused to rule out military action. France, Russia and China have all opposed using such force.

Press secretary for Russia at the UN Kirill Speransky "Russian Federation considers any unilateral action of military character unacceptable, except by the resolution of the Security Council." President Boris Yeltsin sent a deputy foreign minister, Viktor Posuvalyuk, to Baghdad to try to negotiate an end to the standoff. But Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that use of force against Iraq in its standoff with United Nations arms inspectors is "unacceptable and counterproductive."

"All further steps concerning Iraq should be taken strictly in accordance with decisions by the U.N.Security Council and be of a political and diplomatic nature," said the statement, said ministry spokesman Valery Nesterushkin.

In Paris, Secretary-General Kofi Annan was set to discuss Iraq with France's foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, on Tuesday.

"Saddam Hussein's French Kiss; A desire to stick it to the U.S. has led Paris to embrace the Iraqi dictator", April 18, 2000

When Richard Butler once shared with the United Nations Security Council a series of high-altitude photographs of some 130 heavy Republican Guard trucks gathering at an isolated spot in the desert -- they had just fled an inspection site as Butler and his arms inspection team were approaching -- French U.N. ambassador Alain Dejammet mocked the evidence. Dejammet speculated that perhaps it was just "a truckers' picnic."

It's stunning, the degree to which a misguided and deeply cynical policy run by Paris has managed over the last four years to rally much of the world against the United States -- and in support of Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime. Of course, give a weak American president his due. American fecklessness breeds contempt, even among our allies. But the French deserve special credit.

At the end of the Gulf War in 1991, the U.N. Security Council adopted resolution 687. According to the resolution, Iraq gives up its weapons of mass destruction. In exchange, the international community gives up its sanctions against Iraq. Straightforward. Iraq's oil minister, General Amer Rashid, claims today that Iraq has been "in compliance with 687 since the end of 1991." Equally straightforward. The Iraqis practice the Big Lie.

UNSCOM -- the U.N. commission charged with removing Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction -- has not been permitted by Baghdad to operate in Iraq since late 1998. Even "son-of-UNSCOM," the softer, more politicized version known as UNMOVIC (the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission), run by former Swedish foreign minister Hans Blix, has not been allowed in. "We are happy without the inspections," says Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz. No doubt.

While still operating in Iraq, UNSCOM found a consistent pattern of flagrant cheating and concealment by the Iraqis. In one instance, one of UNSCOM's senior biological inspectors seized a briefcase from two Iraqi officers running out the back door of a laboratory. The briefcase contained materials for testing biological warfare agents such as anthrax and botulinim toxin. In another, Tariq Aziz, brazen and defiant, told UNSCOM's chairman Butler that the regime needed to retain its weapons of mass destruction for the Persians (Iranians) and the Jews (Israelis)!

Saddam's weapons programs continue. According to recent German press reports, Germany's intelligence has located a new secret missile factory some 40 kilometers southwest of Baghdad. The factory reportedly employs 250 engineers and is working on plans for missiles with a range of 3,000 miles, far longer that the missiles Iraq recently tested. How many truckers' picnics would we find today if the international community were able to conduct inspections inside Iraq?

So what's the French posture? Since coming to office in 1995, President Jacques Chirac has pursued doggedly a policy aimed at ending sanctions and returning Saddam's regime to the family of respected nations ("Iraq is not a defeated nation!" French diplomats declare). The French approach to helping Saddam has not been a very creative one, mind you. Paris simply follows Baghdad.

At first, this meant discrediting Richard Butler as an agent of the Americans. Yes, Butler, the center-left Australian diplomat who has spent his career in arms control and disarmament issues -- often on the opposite side from the United States. Go figure. Still, when Butler told the New York Times in 1998 that Iraq possessed enough anthrax to "blow away Tel Aviv," Iraq beat the drum about U.S.-Zionist conspiracies -- and the French kept pace. Foreign minister Hubert Vedrine suggested that Butler was "over-stepping his prerogatives." France's interior minister, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, called Butler's comments "ridiculous" (Chevenement had resigned as defense minister over the Gulf War).

Paris also followed Saddam's line by discrediting the work of UNSCOM more generally, suggesting that the enterprise itself was a tool of the Americans. After all, it conducted "endless checks," complained Le Monde, led by a "preponderance" of Americans. But this, too, flew in the face of all evidence. UNSCOM's work was led by scientific experts. What's more, the highest percentage of Americans that ever served among UNSCOM's team of technical experts was 17 percent. The head of the missile team was a Russian, as was the deputy head of the chemical weapons unit. A Frenchman served as the photo interpreter for U-2 imagery -- until his government recalled him in 1997 because, according to one former UNSCOM official, his work led him to stray from Paris's overtly political line.

Finally, and most successfully, the French have followed Baghdad's propaganda that the U.S.-led sanctions, and not Saddam's regime, have become the primary problem. On this, France has won allies. In August, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez became the first foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the Gulf War. Chavez belittled those who would demonize Saddam ("We're all sons of God," he crowed). More recently, the Russians, a strong competitor to France in representing Saddam's interest at the Security Council, have joined the French in testing the U.N. embargo by sending planes into Baghdad. India and China have applauded the move. The Swiss and Italians are considering following suit. The purpose? To bring to an end American "genocide," says JeanMarie Benjamin, a priest who helped organize one of the recent anti-sanctions flights, backed by the French government. "The U.S. approach is to inflict punishment," says Vedrine, "whereas our approach is to look for a solution."

What's the solution? Removing sanctions from Saddam will not change the plight of the Iraqi people. Nor will France's tender embrace civilize the Iraqi dictator. For five years he refused to participate in the U.N.'s "oil-for-food" program, through which Baghdad is able to sell oil for food and medicine. Since 1996, his loyalists have hoarded food and allowed medical supplies to rot in warehouses. He smuggles in Mercedes and Volvos, "absolutely obscene amounts of Scotch," according to Western intelligence sources, and various other luxury goods for personal consumption. He smuggles out what he can't use. Last month, the British pharmaceutical company Glaxo Wellcome discovered its Ventolin -- a children's asthma medicine, which had been shipped to Iraq under a U.N. program -- circulating on the black market in Lebanon.

Sure, the French, like the Russians, are eager to snap up lucrative oil contracts. Baghdad has openly promised preference to those who help end the embargo. The French also are interested in building coalitions against American power and influence ("the entire policy of France is dedicated to this" goal, says its foreign minister). But "the enemy of my enemy" sort of logic was supposed to have died with the end of the Cold War.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam's, had the assignment in the late 1980s of providing a "final solution" to Iraq's Kurdish problem. Al-Majid boasted in a May 1987 meeting -- a transcript of which was in the archive that fell into the hands of Human Rights Watch in 1991 -- that he would "kill them all [the Kurds] with chemical weapons. Who is going to say anything? The international community? F -- them!" Al-Majid gassed civilians and ordered films to be made of his massacres and deportations. He was promoted to governor of Kuwait and subsequently minister of defense. If they get this Iraqi regime out of jail, what reward do the French really expect to receive?

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