Iraq has said it is not frightened by threats of military action, which US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair expect to win broad international support.
"US threats do not scare the Iraqi people, they consolidate their cohesion and determination to defend" their country, Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said during a meeting late Saturday with Kurdish officials loyal to Saddam's regime, AFP reported.
"The Iraqi people know well the evil intentions of the United States against their country and they are totally ready to confront any US-Zionist attack. "The US terrorist designs against Iraq have been laid bare, which has largely contributed to the positions taken against the US administration's policy, notably in Europe and elsewhere," Ramadan said Sunday, adding that Iraq was ready to resume dialogue with the United Nations.
Saddam also chaired a meeting of his senior military officials in which he hailed their "hard work ... in raising Iraq's position and serving the Arab world," and called on them to work together "for the defence of Iraq."
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Bush retains all his options to act unilaterally toward Iraq even as he seeks international support to bring down Saddam.
Powell told Fox News television Sunday that regardless of the reaction to Bush's speech on Iraq to the UN General Assembly this week "the president will retain all of his authority and options to act in a way that may be appropriate for us to act unilaterally to defend ourselves." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
