BY ROHAN PEARCE
Ignoring the fact that Iraq is fully cooperating with United Nations weapons inspectors, Washington continues to prepare for war. The November 19 New York Times reported that the US "has quietly doubled the number of its troops in Kuwait and is practising offensive operations against Iraq close to the border with Saddam Hussein's forces". Over the last year, US troops stationed in Kuwait have increased to 9000.
Captain James Schwartz, a US officer taking part in the exercises, told the NYT that, "Even though Saddam Hussein has accepted the UN resolution, we continue to maintain the mindset that we are going to war".
The White House-drafted UN resolution 1441 provides many potential "justifications" for a US-led war. However, the US rulers are preparing for the probability that the primary "trigger" — the discovery of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction — won't be found.
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked during an interview November 15, "What if no weapons of mass destruction are found by UN weapons inspectors inside Iraq?" He replied that all "it would prove would be that the inspections process had been successfully defeated by the Iraqis". Thus, if Iraq refuses to cooperate with weapons inspectors, it is proof that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction. But if the inspectors are allowed unlimited access to all of Iraq but still find nothing, it is also proof that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
Richard Perle, the leading "hawk" who directs the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, told Labor Party parliamentarians in London on November 20 that just because the inspectors might be unable to find the alleged weapons, it "does not prove Saddam does not have weapons of mass destruction". Perle argued that even if the UN gave Iraq "a clean bill of health", the existence of just one Iraqi witness testifying that the weapons did indeed exist was a sufficient justification for the US to take military action without further proof.
The British Sun newspaper reported on November 24 that "America is expected to immediately accuse [Hussein] of lying" after Iraq submits its December 8 declaration, which will outline its remaining weapons capabilities. "Pentagon chiefs have pinpointed a six-week 'window of opportunity' in which to launch a war against Iraq", the newspaper reported. "All the signs point to a December 16 start, with the 'window' stretching beyond Christmas until the end of January."
This assessment is shared by Republican insider and former Reagan administration Secretary of State George Shultz, who said on November 20: "There will be military action. I would be surprised if we have not acted by the end of January."
White House propagandists are also attempting to talk up minor incidents, the most frequently cited being Iraq's anti-aircraft fire at US and British planes that continue to assault the country's air defences on an almost daily basis. White House spokespeople have stated that the firing, which has not hit a single invading aircraft during the almost 250,000 sorties that have taken place since 1991, constitutes a "material breach" of the UN resolution.
From Green Left Weekly, December 4, 2002.
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