Washington: The United States has said war with Iraq is not inevitable and it could
be prevented if President Saddam Hussein chooses to disarm.
"We continue to hope that he will change course. No one wants war. The choice
between war and peace will not be made in Washington, or for that matter in New
York, but in Baghdad," Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters.
He made it clear again that in American eyes, it is Saddam's fault if United Nations
inspectors do not find he is in breach of UN resolutions on weapons of mass
destruction (WMD).
"The fact that inspectors have not yet come up with new evidence of Iraq's WMD could
be evidence in and of itself of Iraq's non-co-operation. We do know Iraq has
designed its programme in a way that they can proceed in an environment of
inspections and that they are skilled at denial and deception.
"The President (George W Bush) has repeatedly made clear that the burden of proof is
not on the United States, it is not on the UN or the international community to
prove that Iraq has these weapons. The burden of proof is on the Iraqi regime to
prove that it is disarming, and to show the inspectors where the weapons are,"
Rumsfeld said.
He said inspectors could only find what Iraq wanted them to see. "The only way to
get at the truth is to get Iraqi scientists with their families outside Iraq and
interview them."
The intelligence community of the US, Rumsfeld said, has assessed that Iraq has an
active, on-going nuclear programme. They have assessed Iraq has chemical and
biological weapons, he said.
"Iraqi people who have been involved in some of these programmes have told us that."
Why, Rumsfeld asked, would Iraq be buying out things that are critical to biological
or chemical programmes or nuclear activities and trying to do it in secret?
He said if the US behaved as nations did in the 20th Century and reacted militarily
only after being attacked with a biological or nuclear weapon, the price to be paid
for waiting would be enormous.
When pointed out that some are accusing the US of taking the law into its own hands,
Rumsfeld said the "right of self-defence is inherent in the sovereign state. That
issue is clear and self-evident".
"He (Saddam) has killed a pile of people. He has attacked a number of nations. He
has used chemical weapons on his own people and on his neighbours. And he has got a
very effective denial and deception programme.
"And if someone is sitting here thinking, 'well, wouldn't it be nice if somebody
walked up and handed you a chemical or biological weapon, or physical evidence that
they are within 15 minutes of having a nuclear weapon', that would be wonderful. It
isn't going to happen. It will only happen if he decides to do it," Rumsfeld said.
PTI
