President Bush said Saturday that Saddam Hussein does not intend to disarm and expressed confidence the United Nations will approve a new resolution authorizing war against Iraq.
Bush pointed to the Security Council's unanimous passage last fall of a resolution demanding that Iraq surrender its weapons of mass destruction. "He hasn't disarmed," Bush said. "So the clarity of vision that took place four months ago I'm confident will be in place after the Security Council takes a good look at the facts."
The Iraqi leader, Bush said, "has no intention of disarming, otherwise he would have done so."
Bush spoke with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar at his side, reaffirming his support for Bush's Iraq policy. "We are ready to fight together against weapons of mass destruction and terrorism," Aznar said.
Asked if this was the Security Council's last chance to show its relevance, Bush answered curtly, "Yes." Another question about whether he again was willing to wait two months before U.N. action also drew a one-word reply. "No," the president said. "Time is short," Bush said.
Bush brushed aside doubts about whether the resolution would overcome deep reservations by Russia, China and France. "I think I remember getting asked the same questions" four months ago before the Security Council unanimously adopted the first resolution, Bush said. "We're just beginning," Bush said.
The two leaders spoke shortly after the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said in Iran that Iraq was not fully cooperating with inspectors.
"We have not finished our work in Iraq. We are not getting full cooperation from Iraq but we hope to get it in the coming weeks," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at a news conference.
"We'd also like to see active cooperation (from Iraq) in freely interviewing Iraqi scientists," ElBaradei said. However, he said there was still a chance to avoid war.
"We still believe that war is not inevitable," he told reporters as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Iran. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
