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Iraq I: Opposition Leaders Warn of Hussein’s WMD Aims By Mike Nartker “Without doubt, he is developing weapons of mass destruction,” said al-Sharif Ali bin Hussein, INC spokesman and leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy Movement, during a press conference (see GSN, July 29). “Without doubt, he has chemical and biological weapons.” Hussein has been attempting to develop a nuclear weapon for more than 30 years, bin Hussein said, adding that experts have predicted he could be successful within the next three years. “The choice is stark, and the choice is clear,” he said. “Does the international community want a regime like Saddam Hussein’s to be in possession of nuclear weapons?” The Iraqi population itself might be the final target of Hussein’s WMD ambitions, according to bin Hussein. “Even we, as Iraqis, fear what he might do out of spite, in that he may use chemical weapons against our own population just as a final act of vengeance,” he said. Six top Iraqi opposition leaders are scheduled to meet today with Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith to discuss coordinated efforts against the Hussein regime and the future of a post-Hussein Iraq (see GSN, July 29). “We view the invitation as very significant — as a statement of the serious intent of the Bush administration to rid Iraq of Saddam and also of its recognition of the important role that the Iraqi opposition can play,” bin Hussein said in a press statement. “We will not sit back and wait for events,” he said during yesterday’s press conference at the National Press Club. “We will lead them.” Ties to Iran Among the leaders invited to Washington today is Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The council, most of whose members are Shiite Muslims, has a history of ties to Iran, according to a Federation of American Scientists profile (see GSN, March 20). The United States has provided support for the council as an Iraqi opposition group, the State official said. Bin Hussein said several of the group’s leaders are based in Iran, which has provided offices and logistical support. While the council has sought to distance itself from Iran, it has also been known to accept weapons and training from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, according to the Federation of American Scientists profile. Three senior Iraqi opposition officials recently held fruitful meetings with the council leadership in Iran, bin Hussein said. A message that is important to other countries in the Middle East — that the Iraqi opposition is working to prevent the breakup of Iraq and to prevent a power vacuum — was “well received” during the meeting, he added. No Support for Hussein Meanwhile, there is practically no support for Hussein among various sectors of the Iraqi population — the military, the Revolutionary Guard, the security service or the general population — bin Hussein said. “Nobody in Iraq will defend that regime,” he said. He played down the significance of recently reported pro-Hussein demonstrations. In Baghdad, 15,000 Iraqis chanted pro-Hussein and anti-U.S. slogans, the Associated Press reported yesterday. “If Saddam goes, those demonstrations will cheer his death,” bin Hussein said. Even though Hussein is preparing for U.S. military action against his regime with preparations for urban warfare instead of pitched battles and a shoot-on-sight curfew, the Iraqi military will do little to defend him, according to bin Hussein. The military hopes to convey its low support for Hussein so it will not be the target of a U.S. offensive, he said. “No stretch of the imagination will make them want to defend Hussein,” bin Hussein said. For further information, see: U.N. Resolution 687 (Sanctions Regime) U.N. Resolution 1409 (“Smart Sanctions”) U.S. State Department Fact Sheet on Iraqi Sanctions Revisions
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