- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As
Baghdad offered once more to work with the United Nations on Tuesday to
head off a threatened U.S. military strike, President Bush called congressional
leaders to the White House for talks expected to focus on his efforts to
overthrow Saddam Hussein.
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- Iraq said Bush might be bent on war anyway and a defiant
Saddam said his people would emerge triumphant from any military showdown
with their enemies.
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- In Washington, top Republicans and Democrats in the House
of Representatives and the Senate will attend a meeting with Bush on Wednesday,
which comes as he launches a major bid for support for the overthrow of
the Iraqi president.
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- The White House, which accuses Iraq of developing weapons
of mass destruction, said Bush had not made a decision on how to proceed
against Saddam and had promised to consult with members of Congress and
key allies.
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- "The president said he would consult with the members
of the (Capitol) Hill about the topic of security, about Iraq, about the
war on terror," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "This
is part of the president reaching out and consulting."
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- British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington's closest
foreign ally against Iraq, issued a stark warning to Saddam on Tuesday,
telling him to comply with U.N. resolutions on weapons of mass destruction
or face removal.
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- Blair was speaking hours after Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
Tareq Aziz made a renewed conditional offer at a meeting in Johannesburg
with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resume cooperation with the U.N.
to defuse the crisis with Washington.
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- WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
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- "If the question of so-called weapons of mass destruction
is a genuine concern by the U.S., this matter could be dealt with reasonably
and equitably, but if it is a pretext for (regime) change ... then they
will use whatever pretext that remains in their hands to attack Iraq,"
Aziz told reporters.
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- He said a comprehensive solution would involve tackling
U.S. threats to oust Iraq's leadership, American and British air patrols
over the north and south of Iraq, and the lifting of sanctions imposed
for Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
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- "As I told the Secretary-General, if anybody can
have a magic solution, so that all these issues are being dealt with together,
equitably and reasonably, we are ready to find such a solution and we are
ready to cooperate with the United Nations."
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- Annan said in a statement the meeting was part of continuing
talks with Iraq on arms inspectors, who left in 1998 just before a U.S.-British
bombing campaign to punish Baghdad for its alleged failure to cooperate
with their mission.
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- "At this stage I cannot say they've taken a decision
to allow the inspectors. I mean they have questions," Annan told CNN
after he spoke to Aziz.
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- Aziz appeared to restate demands that Annan has in the
past rejected on the grounds that Security Council resolutions call for
inspectors to be readmitted without conditions.
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- In Britain, Blair said Iraq posed a real and unique threat
to the Middle East and the world, which the international community, not
just the United States, must deal with.
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- "Either the regime starts to function in a completely
different way ... or the regime has to change."
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- Saddam said on Tuesday that the Iraqis would emerge victorious
in any showdown with their enemies, a clear reference to threatened U.S.
military action.
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- MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES
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- "We have prevailed before and we will also prevail
in Umm al-Ma'arik (the Mother of All Battles) at the end, God willing,"
Iraq's state television quoted Saddam as saying in an open letter to the
Iraqi people.
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- Despite transatlantic friction over U.S. war talk, signs
are emerging of a final push to get the inspectors back to Iraq before
any military action, European diplomats said.
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- Under a plan that European Union foreign ministers will
discuss with Secretary of State Colin Powell in New York next week, a new
mandatory Security Council resolution would be adopted within two months
demanding that Iraq unconditionally readmit weapons monitors.
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- That would put the onus on Saddam to cooperate quickly
or face likely military consequences, the diplomats said.
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- Powell said on Tuesday he was exploring proposals that
would restore U.N. arms inspections despite what he called "lots of
differences" inside the United States over what the administration
should do.
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- Powell told reporters aboard his plane to Johannesburg
that inspectors could play a part in disarming Iraq and that he shared
Bush's position on this.
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- Vice President Dick Cheney said last week that the U.N.
arms inspectors, who have not visited Iraq for four years, could "provide
no assurance whatsoever" and could even add to the danger by giving
a false sense of comfort.
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- Powell said: "We are all working in harmony to make
sure the president has the very best information. All the different insights
that exist within his cabinet have to be brought to bear on this so that
he can make the best decision."
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- Bush says Iraq is part of an "axis of evil"
and whose leader must be removed before he can threaten the West and its
allies with an array of doomsday weapons. Iraq says its chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons have already been destroyed.
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- France on Tuesday backed the return of U.N. arms inspectors
to Iraq and wanted any strike on Baghdad to be made contingent on U.N.
Security Council approval.
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- Former South African president Nelson Mandela said he
had advised Iraq to accept the return of the inspectors provided they were
drawn from all continents and were objective.
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- U.S. talk of assaulting Iraq has sparked dismay around
the world, with Russia, Pakistan and six Gulf Arab states among the latest
to express their opposition to any such war.
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