DATE=6/28/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=IRAQI OPPOSITION
NUMBER=5-46582
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Leaders of the Iraqi National Congress, the 
main opposition group to Saddam Hussein, have come to 
Washington to make their case for more U-S help.  
While the United States supports their efforts, they 
say that support is lukewarm, and many Americans 
agree.  V-O-A's Ed Warner reports on their comments at 
a Washington meeting that also reflected on Saddam 
Hussein's hold on power.


TEXT:  Powerful U-S and British forces surround Saddam 
Hussein.  They bomb his country almost every day.  
Iraq is subject to strict economic sanctions.  Yet 
Saddam Hussein remains in power and may be getting 
stronger.

That is the assessment of Sherif Ali bin al-Hussein, 
leader of the Constitutional Monarchist Party and a 
member of the Iraqi National Congress, a coalition of 
opposition groups.

At a meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East 
Policy, he warned that Saddam Hussein will soon escape 
the box (EDS: free himself of restrictions) imposed on 
him after the Gulf war and start a military build-up 
that includes weapons of mass destruction.  He 
predicts Iraq will emerge as a regional superpower 
under its ruthless leader.

Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, 
acknowledges that restraints on Saddam are fast 
eroding:

            /// Chalabi Act ///

      We see allies of the United States in the Gulf 
      such as Qatar, the U-A-E (United Arab Emirates) 
      and Bahrain re-establish full diplomatic 
      relations with Saddam in recent weeks.  Qatar is 
      the main depository of U-S military hardware in 
      the Gulf, and Bahrain is the main rest-and-
      recreation area for U-S forces in the Gulf.  The 
      Italian parliament has passed resolutions asking 
      for the removal of sanctions.

            /// End Act ///

Mr. Chalabi said Turkey has sent a business delegation 
to Iraq.  Jordan and Syria are also cozying up to 
(EDS: becoming friendlier with) the Baghdad regime, 
which has activated its intelligence operatives 
abroad.

The Iraqi opposition complained to Vice President Al 
Gore about this growing appeasement, and he issued a 
statement of support for the Iraqi National Congress.

But such support is not being expressed at all levels 
of the Clinton Administration, says Mr. al-Hussein:

            /// Al-Hussein Act ///

      All the efforts that the top leadership are 
      putting in to liberating Iraq are being 
      undermined at lower levels. Can we have a 
      unified message?  Can we not have people talking 
      behind our backs and saying they are incapable 
      of doing this and incapable of doing that when 
      we are constantly faced with obstacles.  It does 
      great damage to us when officials of the 
      administration say:  Do not take these guys 
      seriously.

            /// End Act ///

The opposition leaders said they recognize the 
suffering of the Iraqi people, which they blame 
largely on Saddam.  Part of their own program involves 
getting humanitarian aid to Iraq.

And Mr. Chalabi questioned the usefulness of punishing 
Iraqis for the sins of their leader:

            /// Chalabi Act ///

      Sanctions are not a policy.  To maintain 
      sanctions without the prospect of removing 
      Saddam is an immoral act.

            /// End Act ///

Yet the sanctions remain in place -- along with 
Saddam.  The United Nations estimates hundreds of 
thousands of Iraqis have died as a result of them.  
The Washington Post reports hundreds more have been 
killed by U-S bombing.

To what purpose? asks Eric Gustafson, executive 
director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center.  
The sanctions are supposedly based on the continued 
concealment of weapons of mass destruction.  But arms 
controllers say there are hardly any left in Iraq to 
discover.

At a recent meeting of the American Muslim Council, 
Mr. Gustafson said disarmament is now a matter of 
looking for a needle in a haystack:

            /// Gustafson Act ///

      At the tip of that needle you have anthrax, and 
      it is somewhere lost in the fields of Iraq.  
      Until you find that needle, you do not have 
      disarmament of Iraq.  A hundred per cent 
      disarmament is absolutely impossible.  I think 
      what it does is ensure that the goal posts (EDS: 
      requirements) are so high Iraq will never meet 
      its obligations, and sanctions will become 
      permanent.

            /// End Act ///

The Iraqi opposition contends removal of weapons is 
insufficient.  Saddam Hussein must go.  But they 
concede that is not likely any time soon, and so 
Iraqis continue to suffer from both Saddam and 
sanctions.   (signed)

NEB/EW/JP




28-Jun-2000 15:33 PM EDT (28-Jun-2000 1933 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.