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Journalism of Courage
WASHINGTON, February 14: President Bill Clinton has sounded a fresh warning saying the US could not walk away from its obligation to stop Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction as the Pentagon made a detailed plan to strike Iraq with Cruise missiles and bombs.
Clinton said diplomacy has almost run its course and he would launch a strike against Iraq unless President Saddam Hussein agrees unconditionally to allow United Nations (UN) inspectors free and unhindered access to its weapons sites.
"It will be Saddam Hussein’s decision, not mine," he declared yesterday.
Clinton’s warning came amid reports that his administration was stepping up its efforts to prepare the US public for military action against Baghdad.
The State Department said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defence Secretary William Cohen and national security adviser Sandy Berger will visit an undetermined US city next Wednesday to present the American position on Iraq.
Spokesman James Rubin said the aim of the trip would betalk to Americans about the stakes in the Iraqi crisis.
The Pentagon’s top Army officer said the US had a detailed plan to strike Iraq with Cruise missiles and bombs but expected American pilots to be lost and Iraqi civilians hurt in any raids.
"The truth is, war is a dirty thing…," Army Gen Henry Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
"We have our objectives laid out, and we know exactly what it will take to do that and we’ll know when we’ve achieved those objectives and we, in fact, could stop at that point," Shelton told mediapersons.
He insisted that the US has the cooperation it needs from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to carry out the military option against Iraq.
Washington prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but a detailed military plan is in place if force is required, the General said.
He reiterated that the US goal was not to overthrow Saddam and said the military option was designed to degrade Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and its ability to threatenits neighbours.
How the military intends to accomplish those goals was not let out by the General, who declined to discuss the types of targets that would be struck.
"Suffice it to say, if I were Saddam I would be concerned about a potential strike. I think we’ve said before, we hope it doesn’t come to that but if we use a strike that it will be a significant or substantive strike," he said.
UN team for Baghdad
