INTERNATIONAL
U.N.-lraqi meeting inconclusive
(AP| — Tho U.N. chief met
Sunday with Saddam Hussein
in a bid to make peace in the
Persian Gulf, but he said later
"only God knows" if there will
be war. Saddam said any last
minute peace overture is up to
the Americans
In an earlier radio address,
the Iraqi leader reiterated that
his country is ready to fiKht to
keep conquered Kuwait.
"That doesn't surprise me.
but they’re making a tremen
dous mistake." Hush shot back,
speaking to reporters in Wash
ington
Javier Pore/ de Cuellar, the
U.N. chief, left Haghdad imme
diately after his meeting with
Saddam.
The meeting took place two
days before the Jan 15 U.N.
deadline for Iraq to withdraw
Iroin Kuwait or fa< e possible at
tack.
"I have always said that I am
neither optimistic or pessimis
tic hut always hopeful I could
not have Imm a secretary-gen
eral if I was not hopeful." Pe
rez de Cuellar told reporters in
Haghdad
Asked if there would la* war.
he responded:
"It is a question, if you be
lieve in God. only God knows.
If you don’t believe in God.
who knows."
Perez de Cuellar said he
could not give details of the
talks but would inform the
U.N. Security Council of the
Iraqi position when he meets
with the council in New York
on Monday.
The U.N. chief, who arrived
in Paris early Monday on a
flight from Haghdad. was to
meet with President Francois
Mitterrand later in the* morning
and then heave for New York
Luxembourg Foreign Minis
ter lacques Poos, who holds the*
rotating presidency of the Furo
pean Community, was raport
odly to fly to Paris to meet with
Perez de Cuellar before a Mon
day meeting of EC foreign min
isters in Luxembourg
The Iraqi leader, speaking af
ter the talks, said any last-min
ute peace initiative would be
up to the Americans "because
they are the ones now raising
the slogan of war."
In the remarks to Iraqi media
officials, carried by the official
Iraqi news agency. Saddam
also said that Perez de Cuellar
was encouraged to return to
itaghdad "if there is a desire to
search for the means to peace
However, in the remarks re
ported by the BBC. be insisted
there must la- a link to the Pal
estinian issue US officials
have rejected any tie between
the two issues.
french Foreign Minister Ro
land Dumas sail) in a television
interview in Paris that the
world was "a hairsbreadth"
from war Hi- said lie might
travel to lt.igbd.nl depending
on what Perez de Cuellar said
Secretary of State lames A
Baker III met with officials in
Ankara. Turkey on Sunday and
reportedly disc ussed use of an
air base near the Iraqi border in
case of war.
lie later flew to a British air
liase north of Izindon. where he
met British Prime Minister John
Major. Baker said he was "trou
bled" by Soviet military action
in Lithuania but that it would
not affect military action in the
gulf
"It is desirable to move soon
er rather than later." he added.
Iraq has said that if attacked
by the U S.-dominated multina
tional force, it would strike first
at Israel. Israeli Defense Minis
ter Sloshe Arens said Sunday
that Israel would respond to
any Iraqi attack, despite report
ed U S. appeals for it to exer
cise restraint.
Washington has reportedly
urged Israeli restraint because
it wants to keep together the
alliance against Iraq, which in
vaded Kuwait on Aug 2. Arab
states such as Saudi Arabia.
Syria and Egypt are part of that
alliance.
There were appeals Sunday
for Saddam to leave the occu
pied emirate from the pope.
Saudi King Fahd and Libyan
leader Col. Moammar Cadhafi.
On Saturday. Syrian leader Ha
fez Assad urged Saddam to
withdraw and thereby spare
Arabs a destructive war
Earlier Sunday. Perez do
Cuellar met with 1*1X3 leader
Yasser Arafat and explained the
proposals hi1 would make to
Saddam. a< cording to Arab
diplomats.
After the meeting. Arafat told
a news conference lie did not
believe war would break out on
(an 15.
"I don't believe the war will
break out." Arafat said ")an,
15 is only a dale like all other
dates.
lie said, however, the U S
Congress' endorsement Satur
day of military action could be
damaging to Perez de Cuellar's
peace efforts.
In the earlier radio broadcast.
Saddam said. "Our 19th prov
ince lias become a battlefield
for the showdown in which the
(Arab) nation will be trium
phant." He urged Syria, which
has committed nearly 20.000
tnrops to the WOO.000-strong al
lied force, to switch sides and
join with Iraq.
Saddam has summoned the
National Assembly to an emer
gency session Monday. The
reason for the session was not
disclosed, but Saddam has
used the parliament in the past
to validate concessions during
the crisis.
UO BOOKSTORE PHOTO DEPT.
Chemicals and missiles
are Iraq’s military power
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The wild card in Iraq's formidable
arsenal in the confrontation over Kuwait is its stockpile of
chemical weapons and its missiles.
Saddam Hussein's clandestine drive to develop the first
Arab nuclear weapon adds further menace to his fighting
talk.
Most experts believe he is years away from actually being
able to make a nuclear bomb or missile warhead.
Iraq is understood to have a little more than 26 and one
half pounds of pure uranium 235, the material needed to
make nuclear weapons.
Experts say at least double that amount is needed to make
even a crude atomic bomb.
U.S. officials have warned that Iraq could have a nuclear
weapon in less than two years. But the Vienna-based Interna
tional Atomic Energy Agency insists Iraq does not have the
technology to build nuclear weapons.
"In terms of declared facilities, the threat of an Iraqi nucle
ar weapon capability is no more nor less than it was 10 years
ago," said Norman Dombev. a physicist at England's Univer
sity of Sussex.
If the nuclear factor remains in the realm of theory. Sad
dam's armory of ( hemical weapons is not.
Western intelligence agencies believe he has thousands of
tons of poison and nerve gas stockpiled and is capable of pro
ducing. by the most conservative estimates, hundreds of tons
a year at heavily guarded plants around Iraq.
During the 1980-88 Iran-lraq war. "chemicals were exten
sively used by the Iraqis in artillery shells, in canisters
dropped from helicopters and in aircraft-delivered bombs."
Martin Navias of the Department of War Studies at King's
College. London, wrote in a recent paper.
Saddam's chemical arsenal is believed to consist primarily
of mustard gas. a blistering agent first used in World War I.
and nerve agents such as tabun and soman.
These agents, which are absorbed through the skin and at
tack the human nervous system, were developed by the Nazis
in the 1930s.
Hut they were never used in World War 11 for fear the Al
lies would retaliate in kind.
Their effectiveness depends on many variables, such as
weather conditions and terrain, which makes results uncer
tain. particularly against military targets.
Iraq is known to have been working on even more lethal
weapons, biological agents such as anthrax and typhoid at its
research center at Salman Pak. southeast of Baghdad
Secretary of State fames Baker has claimed several times
that Baghdad has biological capability, but some Western ex
perts remain skeptical.
During the war with Iran, the Iraqis were unable to link
chemical warheads to their surface-to-surface missiles.
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