- (AFP) - Iraq opened up another site suspected of producing
chemical weapons for public scrutiny, as Washington expressed confidence
it would get global support for a military strike to topple Saddam Hussein's
regime.
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- In the third such public relations exercise in a month,
Iraqi officials gave journalists a tour of a factory at Al-Faluja, 80 kilometres
(50 miles) west of Baghdad, suspected of producing chemical and biological
agents.
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- Twice destroyed by US bombing raids in the 1990s, the
factory was regularly scoured by UN weapons inspectors between 1994 and
1998, according to Baghdad.
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- "This factory was built in 1987 to produce, at the
agriculture ministry's expense, pesticides to protect crops and insecticides
for domestic use," General Mohammad Amin, head of the Iraqi body that
deals with UN arms inspectors, told journalists.
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- According to Amin, the factory was first destroyed in
the 1991 Gulf War and then in 1998, but was rebuilt after both strikes.
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- "The UN special commission for disarming Iraq (UNSCOM)
inspected this site 250 times, at a rate of once a week. The site was also
under a permament surveillance system from 1994, with five cameras and
four sensors linked to UNSCOM headquarters in Baghdad.
-
- "US and British media and CIA-backed agents claim
from time to time that this factory is used to produce chemical agents,"
Amin said, dubbing such accusations as "lies without the slighest
proof."
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- According to UNSCOM documents, a search of Faluja by
UN weapons inspectors in 1991 turned up equipment used to isolate weapons-grade
uranium. This eventually led to the discovery of a full-scale programme
to enrich uranium.
-
- UNSCOM, whose inspectors fled Iraq in 1998 on the eve
of US and British air strikes and which has since been replaced by the
UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), also classified
the Faluja site as a chemical weapons production facility.
-
- The United States has repeatedly threatened to take military
action against Iraq to oust Saddam's regime for allegedly again developing
weapons of mass destruction, a charge Baghdad denies.
-
- US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that Saddam
"is a menace to world peace, a menace to regional peace," and
the world and the region would be safer and better off without him.
-
- In Tokyo on Wednesday, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage said Washington was confident of getting global support for a
military strike on Iraq, but Bush had made no decision yet on whether to
proceed.
-
- "When the US lays out the public case against Iraq,
we do expect to have a fair amount of international support.
-
- "I have no doubt that when the president makes the
decision and that we lay out our public case and that we consult with friends
and allies, at the end of day, there're a good many people who will share
the view with president Bush," Armitage said.
-
- "We believe that we will ultimately be able to make
a compelling case about the weapons of mass destruction and at an appropriate
time we'll be moving forward."
-
- In rare comments by a senior Iraqi official to a Saudi
newspaper, Sabri said Wednesday that Baghdad did not want military confrontation
with Washington.
-
- "The most ideal, successful and effective means
to spare the region from the catastrophe of US evils sponsored by the Zionist
movement ... is an effective Arab and then Islamic solidarity," Sabri
told Okaz daily.
-
- "There is no time for trial and error," Sabri
said, adding that Baghdad was prepared to establish "cordial bilateral
relations" with Washington, but they should be based on mutual respect
and non-interference in internal affairs of others.
-
- Amid mounting opposition to a possible US strike on Iraq,
permament UN Security Council member China said the "Iraqi issue has
become more and more worrying, bringing new instability to the region."
-
- After talks with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji
Sabri, Vice Premier Qian Qichen reiterated Beijing's long-standing position
that any disagreement between Iraq and the United States must be resolved
peacefully through the United Nations.
-
- In a clear message to Washington, Qian added that Beijing
was "against any use of force or threats to use force".
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- "At the same time we hope that Iraq will strictly
abide by Security Council resolutions, make greater efforts to continue
cooperation with the United Nations and make sure that no new complications
arise," said Qian.
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- Similar calls were heard from Bahrain and Syria.
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- "Syria and Bahrain are committed to the sovereignty
of Iraq and to the integrity of its territories. We are therefore opposed
to any military action against this country," King Hamad said after
talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
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- "At the same time, we call on the Iraqi leaders
to apply the UN resolutions and cooperate with this organisation (UN) to
prevent tension and suffering of the Iraqi people and the region,"
said the king, whose island state hosts the US Fifth Fleet.
-
- Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal meanwhile
told the BBC Wednesday that Washington's focus on removing Saddam was "unwise."
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- "There is a chance for diplomacy to work,"
Prince Saud added, insisting such channels were the best route to resolving
the crisis and preserving Iraq's "unity and territorial integrity."
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