Down with the attack on the sovereignty of Iraq!
According to news reports, the report of the weapons inspectors team on Iraq has been seized by the US. The US forcibly took over the arms report on Iraq from the UN Security Council President, and says that it will not be shown to the non-permanent non-nuclear members of the Security Council. (The Hindu, December 10, 2002).
Down with the attack on the sovereignty of Iraq!
According to news reports, the report of the weapons inspectors team on Iraq has been seized by the US. The US forcibly took over the arms report on Iraq from the UN Security Council President, and says that it will not be shown to the non-permanent non-nuclear members of the Security Council. (The Hindu, December 10, 2002). The Weapons’ Inspectors team had submitted its report earlier on December 7, 2002.
It may be recalled that after over nine weeks of intrigue, arm twisting and backhanded inducements, the Anglo American imperialists managed to get the Security Council of the United Nations to pass a resolution permitting the UN to send weapons inspectors to Iraq.
All the conditions stipulated in the resolution with which Iraq has to comply are in outright breach of its right to sovereignty. As in the case of the conditions contained in the infamous Rambouillet Annex B (whose rejections was used as a pretext to unleash the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia), it does not matter what Iraq does, it will be found in breach of conditions. The Resolution is a thinly disguised instrument to prepare conditions for unleashing war on Iraq, this time, with the so – called authority of the United Nations. Its’ main purpose appears to be to legitimize the proposed US imperialist aggression on Iraq as one sanctioned by the UN, and overcome the opposition which many governments have voiced in response to the US demands over Iraq in the past few months.
In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on November 13, the Iraqi government indicated it will accept the return of UN inspectors to the country under the terms of the Security Council Resolution 1441, "despite its bad contents" . It has said that it possesses no weapons of mass destruction as alleged by the US. Iraqi officials have handed over a complete documentary report of all relevant material to the UN inspectors on Saturday, December 07, 2002.
Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix said that U.N. experts will keep secret all sensitive material on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the massive report — even from the United States and other Security Council members. The very fact he thought it necessary to give such an assurance itself speaks volumes. This assurance comes in the wake of widespread accusations that the weapons inspectors, like the inspectors who left Iraq four years ago, are indulging in espionage for the United States and other western powers. In fact, this has been confirmed on more than one occasion by various members of the former UN inspection teams. The US imperialists also urged the chief UN inspector to pursue a more intensive, multi-pronged operation to "stress" the Iraqi system.
On its part, the US imperialists have been indulging in one shocking conspiracy after another. The New York Tines of Dec 8, 2002 reports that "the Bush administration has pushed the U.N. inspection team to identify key Iraqi weapons scientists and spirit them out of Iraq so they can be offered asylum". The U S imperialists have openly offered bribes to key Iraqi scientists, politicians, and military personnel to turn traitor and reveal all secrets to them. According to the cynical logic of US imperialists, the present regime in Iraq is anyway going to be destroyed if necessary by the use of military force. Hence the Iraqi intellectuals, politicians and other may as well align themselves with the US imperialists now!
It is becoming more apparent than ever that the UN Security Council has this time been used not to prevent unjust and unnecessary war, but as an instrument to legitimize the self serving, dangerous and thoroughly unjust plans of the Anglo – American imperialists. Not only must this be condemned, it must be stoutly opposed by all peoples and governments who desire peace and justice.