Saddam Defends Palaces Against Arms Inspectors

September 20, 2002

IRAQ and America were locked in confrontation last night as Saddam Hussein rejected US attempts to give weapons inspectors access to his presidential palaces.

The Iraqi President told the UN he would accept inspectors on condition that they did not violate Iraq’s “rights, sovereignty, security”. The demand was immediately rejected by the US, which accused him of trying to “lure the world down the same dead-end road” it has travelled before.

The UN plans an early test of Saddam’s compliance. Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, told the Security Council that an advance party could arrive in Iraq on October 15 and conduct some inspections soon afterwards.

Earlier, it had emerged that Washington wants the inspectors to be given new powers to search Saddam’s eight presidential palaces. Under current rules of engagement, they have restricted access to the sprawling complexes.

President Bush stepped up the pressure for UN action by sending Congress a sweeping draft resolution demanding the power to remove Saddam using “all means ... including force”. He said: “If the Security Council won’t deal with the problem, the United States and some of our friends will.”The White House also found itself in a row with Germany after Herta Däubler-Gmelin, the German Justice Minister, compared Mr Bush to Hitler, suggesting he was pursuing Iraq to divert attention from domestic problems.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-421327,00.html