Tommorows the day we finally hear what US has or hasnt got and it seems the US may have a few been listening in on Iraqs phone conversations,this might make for some interesting listening.It also looks like Russia`s anti-war stance might be softening.
Somthing tells me that this forum may be quite busy tommorow.
US readies secret Iraq evidence
Powell said to use transcripts, photos of weapons for case
By Barry Schweid, Associated Press, 2/4/2003
ASHINGTON – Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will present photographs of mobile
biological weapons installations and transcripts of overheard Iraqi conversations to try to
convince allies that Saddam Hussein has potent arsenals in defiance of UN disarmament
demands, an administration official said yesterday.
Powell sifted through classified US intelligence yesterday to choose what he will make
public tomorrow to the United Nations Security Council. He is expected to display the
photographs and refer to transcripts, an official said.
Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California and chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee, said he expected the evidence to show details of a transfer of
technology from other countries and the relocation of weapons systems within Iraq.
''He can go into a level of detail with respect to the present maintenance of the stock that
he hasn’t gone into before,‘’ Hunter said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain tried to rally support for the United
States.
''Show weakness now, and no one will ever believe us when we try to show strength in the
future,‘’ he said in France, as he prepared for a meeting today with President Jacques
Chirac, who is reluctant to go to war.
As the administration sought to expand its network of potential coalition partners, Powell
met with the king of Bahrain, Sheik Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, who then called on Vice
President Dick Cheney and planned to see President Bush at the White House.
Bahrain, which provides a base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, was the target of long-range
Scud missiles fired by Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War that reversed Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait.
Progovernment newspapers reported Sunday that the Arab nation was deploying Patriot missile
batteries to counter any possible long-range missile threats.
**President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said in Moscow that there was no need for another
Security Council resolution on Iraq, but that he would not rule one out.**
''The inspectors need to tell us what more they need from Iraq, what else can be demanded of
Iraq so their works could be more effective,‘’ Putin said.
His statement suggested that Russia could be imposing more pressure on Baghdad, even though
it favors a political solution.
Russia and France, both of which have veto power in the Security Council, are prime targets
for Powell, who said in an article published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal that ''we
will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass
destruction.‘’
In Baghdad, Parliament speaker Saadoun Hammadi told a group of European legislators:
''American aggression will end up in a catastrophe for them. They will incur casualties
beyond their imagination.‘’
At the Pentagon, a defense official said that a fourth Navy aircraft carrier, the USS
Theodore Roosevelt, would be sent to the Persian Gulf. Powell, in the Wall Street Journal
article, said UN weapons inspectors were harassed and shadowed by Iraqi government
‘‘minders’’ who monitored what those interviewed said.
''We will work to bridge our differences, building on the bedrock of our shared values and
long history of acting together to meet common challenges,‘’ Powell wrote. He plans to meet
in New York today and tomorrow with foreign ministers or ambassadors from most of the 14
other nations on the Security Council, spokesman Richard Boucher said.
The spokesman said Powell’s evidence ‘‘will be compelling,’’ but he also said, ''We are not
trying to hype this presentation.‘’ Asked if the evidence would be surprising to the other
governments, Boucher replied: ''Generally, no.