- BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's
parliament reconvenes on Tuesday to vote on a motion to reject a new U.N.
resolution on disarmament, but the assembly speaker said deputies would
leave the final say to President Saddam Hussein.
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- Deputies gathered in emergency session on Monday to hear
speaker Saadoun Hammadi denounce the tough U.N. text as a violation of
Iraqi sovereignty and a "preamble for war."
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- "What is proposed is the rejection of the U.N. resolution
for its ill intentions," Hammadi told reporters.
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- "At the same time, the parliament will authorize
the leadership to take any measures which it sees appropriate to defend
the country. The parliament will stand by its leadership whatever this
decision is," he added.
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- The 250-seat parliament met for three hours on Monday
as President Bush made clear he would use the full force of U.S. military
might to make Iraq comply.
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- The assembly adjourned until 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) on
Tuesday when it will resume the debate on the resolution passed unanimously
by the U.N. Security Council last week demanding Baghdad disarm or face
possible military action.
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- "This U.N. resolution looks for a pretext (for war)
and not for a comprehensive solution. It seeks to create crises rather
than cooperation and paves the way for aggression rather than peace,"
Hammadi said in opening the assembly.
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- Hammadi did not say if voting would take place on Tuesday
but the final decision rests with the Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq's
highest authority, which is led by Saddam.
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- All key decisions in Iraq are taken by Saddam and nothing
parliament decides is likely to be more than an orchestrated show of defiance,
analysts said.
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- Iraq has until Friday to accept the terms of the resolution
demanding Baghdad allow U.N. arms experts unhindered access to any site
suspected of producing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons or face
"serious consequences."
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- The resolution also gives U.N. arms experts sweeping
new rights and Iraq 30 days to submit a detailed list of its weapons.
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- DEFIANT BUSH
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- "The dictator of Iraq will fully disarm, or the
United States will lead a coalition and disarm him," Bush said at
a U.S. Veterans' Day ceremony.
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- Bush described the disarmament campaign against Iraq
as part of the U.S. war on terrorism launched after the hijacked airliner
attacks on the United States on September 11 last year.
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- "Should military action become necessary for our
own security, I will commit the full force and might of the United States
military, and we will prevail," Bush said.
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- U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said
Bush reserved the right to use force without Security Council approval
if Iraq violated the resolution. But Washington would initially discuss
with the Council the consequences of a breach.
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- The resolution gives the Council a key role before any
possible attack, but does not force Washington to seek authorization for
war.
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- But Iraq's official and state-controlled media, which
have denounced the resolution, claimed Iraqi lobbying of Security Council
members denied Washington the right to attack Iraq.
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- U.N. EXPERTS ON STANDBY
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- Disarmament inspections first started after Iraqi forces
were expelled from neighboring Kuwait by a U.S.-led coalition in the 1991
Gulf War. Inspectors withdrew in 1998 in a wrangle over access to Saddam's
palaces.
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- U.N. officials said on Monday an advance team of arms
inspectors and technicians would leave for Cyprus late on Friday if Iraq
accepted the resolution.
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- The team, armed with a list of 100 priority sites, would
then aim to arrive in Baghdad on November 18, they said.
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- In Baghdad, the head of the Iraqi parliament's Arab and
international relations committee, Salim al-Kubaisi, told the assembly
the committee recommended rejection of the resolution.
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- Oil prices climbed on Monday on market fears Iraq might
reject the U.N. text.
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- Russia, which with France and China fought for amendments
to an original U.S. draft resolution, said it hoped Iraq would comply,
saying it was a chance to avoid military action.
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- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder counseled Iraq to
adhere to the resolution "letter by letter" but again said German
troops would not take part in U.S.-led attacks if Baghdad refused.
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- The U.S. military said American and British warplanes
bombed anti-aircraft missile sites on Sunday in the "no-fly zone"
enforced by Washington and London in southern Iraq -- the first such action
since the U.N. resolution was passed.
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- In Baghdad, an Iraqi military spokesman said civilian
and service facilities had been attacked.
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