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| AMBASSADOR HAMDOON | |
 November 10, 1998 
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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And for more on the Iraqi point of view we go to Nizar Hamdoon, Iraq's Ambassador to the united Nations. I spoke with him a short time ago.
NIZAR HAMDOON, Iraqi Ambassador to the UN: You're welcome. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Why did Iraq drastically curtail cooperation with the weapons inspectors on October 31st? |
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Iraq's "frustration" |
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AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Well, we're talking here with the eight years of the most comprehensive sanctions in the history of mankind that were imposed on Iraq with all the suffering, with all the pressures mounting on us. We have reached a point of frustration that we cannot bear it anymore. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: In other words, you thought by ending the inspections that somehow you could get the sanctions to end too? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Yes. We were thinking of getting a fair hearing at the Security Council on the question of what Iraq has accomplished on the removal of the weapons program. But unfortunately the Council - instead of managing an objective and fair hearing for Iraq and what we call the comprehensive review that was envisaged - instead of doing that, the Council, under the pressure of the United States have condemned Iraq for doing so. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Well, Mr. Ambassador, does Iraq dispute the evidence that was in last month's U.N. Special Commission report, the report of the arms inspectors, which laid out what they cannot verify that Iraq says it has done? In other words, for example, they can't verify what happened to 550 shells filled with mustard gas, just for example. Do you dispute those findings?
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: So the main problem, from your point of view, is that you just didn't see an end to the sanctions, no matter what happened? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Absolutely. It is our point of view that with the type of work and the style of work of UNSCOM that has been - lots of reports where we read about it - including the Scott Ritter episode - with this type of work that we're not going to get anywhere. So why keep the UNSCOM together with the sanctions? If we are to live with the sanctions, let it be sanctions minus UNSCOM, rather than sanctions plus UNSCOM. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: All right. That takes us then to the question, what would it take for you to cooperate with arms inspectors when you say sanctions minus UNSCOM? Would it take a whole new organization, or are you through with cooperating with arms inspections, period? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: No. I think if things take the wrong direction and if there would be a military attack, I don't see any reason why Iraq should keep, I mean, the whole job of UNSCOM in Iraq - we would rather live without it, under the sanctions. What Iraq has asked for itself to rescind its earlier position on cooperation is to be promised a fair and objective review under Paragraph 22. The U.S. has opposed that sanctions --
AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Paragraph 22 is the paragraph that addresses the lifting of the sanctions in case of Iraq's compliance. The comprehensive review that Iraq has asked and the Secretary-General has proposed earlier. The Council accepted that, but refused under the American pressure to conduct the review under Paragraph 22, which means that there is no way that the review will lead to any lifting or easing up of the sanctions. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: So the bottom line is if sanctions continue no inspections? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Yes. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Alright. Are there any signs of a diplomatic way out of this? There's been a flurry of activities? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: There are no signs on the surface, so to speak, but there are intensive contacts between the different capitals with Baghdad and hopefully this could produce some initiatives that could help us and find a common ground. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Is there any sign that Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the U.N., will go to Baghdad? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Not up till now has he decided to do so. We've been - contacted him through his personal envoy in Baghdad, and hopefully, he will get more involved, and hopefully he'll get more active on this. |
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| Iraq prepares
to be hit by air strikes |
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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Is Iraq right now, Mr. Ambassador, preparing for - to be struck by air attacks? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Yes, we are getting prepared. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: So do you believe it's going to happen?
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Mr. Ambassador, even governments which supported Iraq - or at least somewhat supported Iraq in the last conflict of this sort in February, which was settled by a meeting between an agreement between Saddam Hussein and Kofi Annan, even those governments, Russia, France, are very critical of you right now. Does that make you stop and think that perhaps Iraq is not taking the proper position here? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Well, I would say here that nobody is feeling our pain. About 70,000 children under the age of five die every year because of the sanctions, so nobody really feels what we are feeling. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And when those governments or when critics say that that's not really what Saddam Hussein or what your government is trying to change here, not so much the sanctions, as trying to keep the weapons of mass destruction that may still exist, what's your response to that? AMBASSADOR HAMDOON: Well, my response is that everybody knows, including the American intelligence, they do know that Iraq does not have any more of those stuff. It is only a pretext to try to give the pressure on Iraq and to try to achieve political ends. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: All right. Well, Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much for being with us. |
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ELIZABETH
FARNSWORTH: Thank you very much for being with us, Ambassador Hamdoon.
AMBASSADOR
HAMDOON: Well, I mean, it's up to them. That's their part of the job
to try to verify. If they are unable to verify, it's not our fault.
Iraq has provided everything that it - that it has - everything in its
capacity was offered to them. But there are some missing documents,
and don't forget the fact that was - which was documented that Iraq
has unilaterally destroyed many of that stuff, including some documentation
back in 1991, and therefore, we are telling them that this is nonexistent.
If you are going to ask for those steps - two and two - try to wait
until you find them, you are not going to find them, the sanctions will
stay with us for the next century. 
ELIZABETH
FARNSWORTH: I'm sorry. Explain that - under Paragraph 22 - you've asked
for -- 
AMBASSADOR
HAMDOON: That's up to the United States. It's up to the President of
the United States to decide, but we work on the presumption that there
will be such things. 
