Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said yesterday that Iraq would not accept any changes to the existing terms of weapons inspections in his country, referring to the unpublished draft UN Security Council resolution leaked Friday.
An AP piece quotes the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz claiming that the US would suffer losses “that have not been sustained for decades” if it attacks Iraq. So they’ve made their position pretty clear. The article doesn’t address the fact that Iraq already agreed to the terms of inspections on September 16th, although they obviously did not agree on authorizing military action or access to “presidential” sites.
Kudos to the Washington Post, which does mention the September 16th announcement and subsequent backpedaling. WaPo also quotes Ari Fleischer being pretty clear about the US position:
“This is not a matter open to negotiations with Iraq. This is a matter for discussions with the United Nations. It’s clear for all the world to see that Iraq’s intentions are to delay, to argue, to confuse and finally to defy, so they can continue to build up their arms. It makes it even more important for the United States to take strong action.”
The LA Times portrays this as an argument over the “presidential” sites, which are made up of about 1000 buildings adjacent to Saddam Hussein’s palaces. LAT also mentions the two men arrested in Turkey on Saturday trying to sell weapons-grade uranium in a lead-lined taxi seat to undercover police officers.
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