Iraq says prepared to face US military strike

Iraq says prepared to face possible U.S. military strike

Baghdad |Gulf News | 29-07-2002

Iraq said yesterday it had taken all measures to face a possible U.S. military strike to topple President Saddam Hussein.

"Our leadership has prepared everything and our people are determined to resist all attempts against our country," said Speaker of parliament, Saadoun Hammadi.

"Our people's morale is high, our financial potentials are good and we are quite certain we will be able to thwart the U.S. aggression," he told reporters after parliament met to discuss preparations for a U.S. military attack.

U.S. President George W. Bush said this month Washington would use all tools at its disposal to topple Saddam. He has branded Iraq part of an "axis of evil" supporting terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam said in a speech this month that the United States and its allies would not be able to topple his government and the country's parliament has voted to back military preparations to repel any attack.

"We shall defend our country in our territory," Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said in an interview with CNN.

He said Washington wanted UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq "for a sole purpose of updating their military and intelligence information on Iraq to be used in any attack on the Iraqi population".

He said Iraq would only allow the return of inspectors if it was based on what he called a UN agenda, not a U.S. one.

"Their return could be part of a UN agenda to be based on (UN) Security Council resolutions," Sabri said.

"The U.S. agenda for the return of inspectors is to send inspectors here and forget about the killing effects of the regime of sanctions and forget about the continuing bombing by Britain and America of Iraqi territories in the north and south."