DATE=3/7/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=Powell-Iraq (L-only)

NUMBER=2-273404

BYLINE=David Swan

DATELINE=Capitol Hill

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Secretary of State Colin Powell is denying suggestions the new administration is easing pressure on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. V-O-A's David Swan reports, some in Congress would like a more hardline approach, with the goal of removing the Iraqi leader.

TEXT: The question of how to handle Iraq, which plagued the first President Bush, has emerged as an early test of his son's foreign policy. Arab states and European allies are ready to relax or lift the sanctions the world slapped on Baghdad after the Gulf War. Meanwhile, conservative Republican lawmakers in Washington complain the White House is doing little to help the Iraqi opposition.

In his first appearance before the House (of Representatives) International Relations Committee, Mr. Powell defended the administration's approach. He says he and his colleagues inherited a mess, with the old policy on the verge of collapse.

// Powell act //

When we took office on the 20th of January and I stepped into the cockpit to see what was going on, especially with respect to the sanctions "basket" as it's called, the U-N effort, what I found was a plane that was descending and was on the way to a crash. The sanctions were starting to fall apart.

// end act //

The United States is trying to keep the sanctions together by offering to let more civilian goods into Iraq while tightening controls on anything that might help the military. The U-S government has long been on the defensive against charges the sanctions are hurting innocent civilians, which Mr. Powell rejects.

// Powell act //

Let's stop talking about what we're doing to the Iraqi children it's not us, it's him (Saddam). Let's start talking about exactly what the sanctions exist for in the first place and that's to keep him from developing weapons of mass destruction.

// end act //

Mr. Powell has also released more money to the Iraqi National Congress, one of the main opposition groups. He says the administration is studying other possible steps. However, conservatives are impatient for Mr. Bush to make good on one of his campaign promises - to turn up the heat on President Saddam. (Signed)

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