Iraqis angered by Bush speech, Arab League hopeful

11.45am

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials have dismissed today's speech by United States President George W Bush demanding United Nations action against Iraq as "lies", while Arab leaders expressed hope that a regional "catastrophe" could still be avoided.

A Palestinian minister echoed the fury in Baghdad, accusing the United States of double standards while a Lebanese member of parliament said Washington's position had not changed and military action was unavoidable.

But Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters after Bush's hawkish speech, was more hopeful.

"I believe that turn President Bush has taken in asking the UN to take up its responsibility is a good one, but it needs time," Moussa said.

Bush told the UN General Assembly that unspecified action against Iraq would be inevitable unless the United Nations forced Baghdad to disarm. If Iraq fails to comply with UN resolutions, the Baghdad government would lose power, he said.

Iraq's ambassador, Mohammed Aldouri, dismissed the speech as a long series of fabrications motivated by "revenge, oil, personal ambitions and the security of Israel".

In Iraq, officials and ordinary citizens alike reacted furiously to Bush's speech.

"It is a collection of lies which aim at blackmailing public opinion in order to commit new American aggression against Iraq," Saad Qasim Hammoudi, a senior Iraqi ruling Baath Party official, told Reuters.

Adil al-Badawi, a physician, said: "Oh my God. Bush what do you want? Are you crazy? What are you saying? Iraq is the enemy of the world? America is the enemy of the world."

Aldouri insisted there was no evidence his country had weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, biological, chemical or ballistic arms. Accounting for Iraq's dangerous weapons is key to lifting UN sanctions, imposed when Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.

Many Arabs believe Bush's apparent resolve to strike Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein remains firm.

"Bush wants to strike Iraq, and he is determined to do it," said Lebanese parliamentarian Walid Eido, adding there was nothing new in his speech.

Nizar Hamza, Professor of Political Science at the American University of Beirut, concurred.

"I don't see any change in the intentions of President Bush's plan to attack Iraq. The only difference is in the form of language. He is using a more diplomatic language because he is addressing the UN as opposed to the language of force he normally uses," he said.

But the Arab League's Moussa said there "was still room for talks, and as the Secretary-General said today talks should be given enough time to bear fruit".

Jordan's Information Minister Mohammad al-Adwan was also hopeful that Bush's speech would lead to the continuation of the dialogue between Iraq and the United Nations.

"We hope that Iraq will abide by the Security Council's resolutions on the return of weapons inspectors to spare Iraq and the region any military strike that would lead to catastrophes on all of us," he added.

Moussa said he would go to Iraq himself for talks and that he believed the Iraqis would allow UN inspectors to return.

The inspectors were pulled out of Iraq in December 1998, hours before a United States-British bombing raid. They have not been allowed to return since.

Imad al-Fallouji, one of the Palestinian ministers who resigned this week but is serving until the interim government is formed, said Washington's "policy of double standards has become unacceptable to the Arab people and US allies in the region including the Europeans".

"We are stunned to see the US insistence on forcing Iraq to implement international resolutions while at the same time it has unlimited support for Israel which has frequently violated and neglected all resolutions by the UN and Security Council."

Further reading
Feature: War with Iraq

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