Iraqi President Saddam Hussein dismissed as a "tall story" Tuesday US and British charges that he was again well on the way to developing weapons of mass destruction.
"The Americans and the British are putting about a tall story when they say that, given a free hand, Iraq will produce this or that weapon which they will then put in the hands of terrorists," Saddam said during a meeting with officials of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization.
"It's almost a joke. But they are deliberately seeking to harm Iraq and stop the development of any Arab or Muslim country. It's a dark conspiracy concocted in the West and the United States in particular," he was quoted by the official INA news agency.
Also on Tuesday, the French president, Jacques Chirac warned Baghdad to "very, very quickly" agree to the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. He made this comment after his meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
"I do not want to imagine an attack against Iraq, an attack which — were it to happen — could only be justified if it were decided on by the (U.N.) Security Council," Chirac said at a joint news conference.
"I also do not want to imagine that the Iraqi authorities will fail to grasp their interest. ... I believe Iraq would be well advised to understand the necessity for it to reach an accord very, very quickly with the U.N. secretary-general." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
