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LEAD-IN BY HOST: Secretary of State Collin Powell briefed the United Nations Security Council today, in an effort to convince the International Community that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction. France, Russia and China -- who all possess veto power in the U.N. Security Council -- gave measured responses, arguing that inspections provided the best means for assuring Iraqi disarmament. They believe the U.N. inspection agency should be augmented to increase its efficiency. But here in Houston, some are calling Powell's presentation a fabricated push for war. Jackson Allers reports:
STORY: "Resolution 1441 gave Iraq one last chance ... one last chance to come into compliance or to face serious consequences. No council member present in voting on that day had any illusions about the nature and the intent of the resolution or what serious consequences meant if Iraq did not comply." Collin Powell's argument to the U.N. Security Council today hinged on what the United States says was evidence gathered from security agencies both in the United States and abroad. Over a one hour and twenty minute multimedia presentation, Powell carted out satellite photographs, played tapes of what he characterized as intercepted conversations between Iraqi military personnel and used cartoon-like simulations of mobile biological weapons factories. Despite presenting a mountain of so-called 'evidence' to the International community, Powell presented no smoking guns. Local professor of History at the University of Houston, and author of the book Empire and Revolution, John Hart, says Powell's presentation lacks merit: "It's very, very disappointing to have a gang like this giving unbalanced reports ... obviously with a total lack of material evidence. What we have here is a reportage: because if they were being fair-minded they'd say 'On the other hand all of this could mean nothing.' And they're not about to say that because they want to attack those people. So then it becomes a question of whether it is material gain, political power or perversion, or all three." Hart continues to say that it is not uncommon for administrations to lie to further an agenda: "As an historian I've actually read the documents where they plant stories, they disinform ... they actually take a great deal of pleasure in that ... and then they try to cover themselves by shredding the documents. But fortunately for us there are always those people who keep private papers." And private papers are something Daniel Ellsberg knows something about. Ellsberg, a former military analyst for the Johnson Administration, is well known for making copies of internal Pentagon papers and leaking them to the press [in 1969.] Speaking to a crowd at the University of Houston yesterday, Ellsberg asked why the Iraqi President hasn't already used what Powell claimed today is in his arsenal: "Saddam is the only statesman in the world who's been bombed for 7 weeks and didn't launch the weapons of mass destruction that he had on alert. So his deter-ability has been tested more than any other head of state has ever been tested. He can be deterred. He was deterred. He is deterred now. Why hasn't he been using the gas that Bush says he has right now against Israel or wherever?" Ellsberg also questioned the administration's position that Iraq is the number one nuclear threat. "What Powell says, he said two days ago: 'The number one danger for Al-Queda getting nuclear weapons is Saddam.' Now Saddam is maybe indistinguishably different as a source of nuclear weapons to Al-Queda. If he's not attacked as Israel whereas North Korea could be giving them nuclear weapons a month from now." France, Germany, China, Russian and Syria all called upon members of the United Nations to allow the inspectors to complete their job and not stop on the first progress report. Iraqi officials called Collin Powell's presentation "lies." [Meanwhile U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter and Daniel Ellsberg anticipate a U.S. military campaign in the next 4 weeks.] Jackson Allers, KPFT News, Houston.
E-mail Jackson Allers at jacksonallers@hotmail.com .
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