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Iraq says it will fight U.S.
ANKARA, Turkey -- A defiant Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has said his country would fight "very effectively" if attacked by the United States. Aziz, speaking in Turkey, accepted there would be great losses but added Iraq had learned military lessons from the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq has agreed to let U.N. weapons inspectors resume their mission to locate and destroy any weapons of mass destruction in the country in an attempt to avert military strikes. But Washington is determined that a new Security Council mandate -- with the threat of force should Iraq fail to comply -- needs to be passed before inspectors fly to Baghdad, and has rejected the deal Iraq reached with chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. Iraq has said the U.S. is determined to launch military action against them to carry out Washington's stated policy of "regime change." Aziz said there was no need for a new U.N. resolution to cover the operations of arms inspectors in Iraq. He told a news conference on Wednesday: "This belligerent, war-mongering policy of the American administration is not a threat to Iraq only, it's a threat to the whole region." Asked if Iraq would launch an attack against Turkey if it sided with the U.S., Aziz said: "We are not going to retaliate against anyone in the region except the American aggressors who will violate our territory." He added: "The Americans are pushing for a belligerent, new resolution which reveals their real intentions. "I have always said that the question of weapons of mass destruction raised by the United States and Britain is a pretext ... to justify the unjustifiable aggression on Iraq. "If they were genuine in their concern, they should be happy that Iraq and Mr. Blix have reached an agreement for the resumption of inspections." He added: "Iraq is strong, even if the Americans attack Iraq we will fight very effectively." The U.S. and Britain are seeking a tough new resolution that demands that Iraq open every inch of its territory to weapons inspections or face military action. Aziz was speaking a day after U.N. and Iraqi officials reached agreement on the foundations for the return of weapons inspectors.
Iraq agreed to give the inspectors unrestricted access to most -- but not all -- of their country, with inspectors planning to return as early as mid-October unless the Security Council stops them. However, the U.S. said it would oppose their return if there was no new Security Council resolution. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. does not want the inspectors to return before the Security Council passes a new resolution that threatens "consequences" if Iraq obstructs their efforts. "There is no magic calendar as to when they should go in," Powell said on Tuesday. "They should go in when they have the authority to do their job." Powell said Iraq would continue to deceive inspectors without a new resolution backing their work with the threat of force." Weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998 ahead of a U.S. and British bombardment and after months of complaints that Iraqi officials were obstructing their work. President George W. Bush has warned that Washington would move to oust Saddam on its own if the United Nations fails to act.
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