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US says has solid basis to say Iraq has weapons
( 2002-12-06 09:15 ) (7 )

The United States on Thursday said President George W. Bush has a "solid basis" to say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction despite Iraq's denials and the fact that UN inspectors have not found any so far.

With the Iraqis defiantly insisting they have no secret weapons programs, the White House said Baghdad has long since lost its credibility on the subject.

"Iraq has lied before and is lying now about whether they possess weapons of mass destruction," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told a daily press briefing.

He said there was intelligence proving the existence of secret Iraqi chemical, biological and nuclear programs. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would not have asserted as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has such weapons "if they did not have a solid basis for saying it," he said.

The United States was anxiously awaiting Iraq's declaration of what secret arms it possesses, a list due to be submitted by a UN-imposed Sunday deadline.

Bush's top national security advisers met at the White House to discuss the awaited declaration and how to respond. Aides said the Iraqi announcement, once received, would be farmed out to the CIA, the Defense Department, the State Department, the National Security Council and other relevant agencies for analysis.

Rumsfeld said the Iraqi declaration will go far toward determining whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein intends to cooperate.

"They could decide that the game's up, and Saddam Hussein and his family could leave the country, which would be a nice outcome," Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.

Or, he said, Saddam could decide that he "would rather stay in power" and reveal all. "And that's a choice he has also," Rumsfeld said.

Bush, asked if the United States was headed toward war, said" UN inspectors, after a week of inspections, have been unable to find evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs in Iraq and Baghdad has heatedly denied possessing them, accusing the United States of seeking a pretext for war.

Some inspectors, smarting at US insistence they work@aggressively, have complained they do not have access to the same intelligence information the United States has.

Fleischer said Washington was providing information to the inspectors but indicated the US government could not give them everything available.

"It's obvious ... that the amount of intelligence available to the United States would be different from the amount of intelligence available to inspectors," Fleischer said.

US officials called premature a report in The Washington Times that said the United States was set to declare Iraq in "material breach" of the UN resolution requiring Baghdad to disarm or face serious consequences.

"That may be where we come out but it's ahead of the game," said one official.

Declaring Iraq in "material breach" could set the stage for a military attack by the United States and what it says will be a "coalition of the willing."

Fleischer said it was impossible to say what the United States will do at this point since Washington has yet to see what Iraq declares, although Baghdad has said it would not be declaring banned weapons because it has none.

US officials admit the inspectors may be unable to find evidence of weapons programs, saying Iraq has had years to hide them and has proven adept at doing so.

This is why Bush has been insistent that the burden of proof is on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to willingly give up his weapons or face military attack.

"The question is whether or not he chooses to disarm, and we hope he does," Bush told reporters as he met the leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia. "For the sake of peace he must disarm."

"Inspectors are there not to play a game of hide and seek. They're there to verify whether or not Saddam Hussein is going to disarm, and we hope he does," Bush added.

Fleischer also dismissed Iraqi charges that the UN inspections team is filled with American and Israeli spies. He called it a "disappointing assertion."

"Again, it's another sign of why the president is not encouraged by Iraq's compliance," he said.