The Iraqi newspaper run by Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, Uday, on Wednesday hailed the Gulf oil monarchies, traditionally close allies of Washington, for rejecting a possible US strike on Baghdad.
Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter has called for an ”honest broker mechanism” that would allow an immediate resumption of arms inspections in Iraq and ensure no deviation from Security Council resolutions.
Iraq repeated denials it is rearming and said that even without sophisticated weapons, it will teach the United States an unforgettable lesson if it is attacked.
Iraq is expected to respond within the next few days to the UN Security Council resolution requiring it to disarm or face serious consequences, the official Iraqi News Agency said on Saturday.
Iraq appears to be seriously considering allowing UN weapons inspectors to return, more than three years after barring them from the country, a top US diplomat says.
Iraq is drafting a reply to a UN letter demanding to know if it agrees to a resumption of weapons inspections and has still not ruled out striking a deal, diplomats said on Tuesday.
The Iraqi parliament, meeting on Monday in a special session to discuss US threats against Baghdad, pledged its full support for President Saddam Hussein and his steps to defend the country.
THE Baghdad zoo has fallen on hard times, and its six lions are now reduced to eating donkey meat because beef is expensive.
A defiant Saddam Hussein vowed on Wednesday that the United States and its allies would never defeat him.
Iraq’s tightly controlled state press has found room for two outlets, albeit run by President Saddam Hussein’s elder son, which provide Iraqis with news they don’t get from other local media.
The English term ”political football” takes on new meaning in Iraq where the game and politics are as intertwined as to be almost united.
Parliament has rubberstamped Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s uncontested candidacy for another seven-year term in a direct challenge to US plots to oust him ”who inspires fear”.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Monday invited his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki to visit his war-threatened country.
WEAPONS from Eastern Europe are being smuggled through Syria into Iraq, as Saddam Hussein builds up his defences in anticipation of a United States-led assault, according to three Iraqi officers who have fled to Europe.
Iraq again opened the door this weekend to a possible return of UN arms inspectors, but kept up its anti-US rhetoric in riposte to Washington’s determination to oust President Saddam Hussein.