Nation & world briefing
U.S. says Iraq is hiding
arms from inspectors
Warren P. Strobel
and Jonathan S. Landay
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON — The White
House said Thursday that President
Bush has evidence that Iraq retains
hidden caches of weapons of mass de
struction, dramatically raising the
stakes in the U.S. confrontation with
Saddam Hussein and suggesting that
Bush is preparing for war.
Top aides to Hussein have said Iraq
will report to the United Nations this
weekend that Iraq is free of the chemi
cal, biological and nuclear weapons and
missiles that it was barred from possess
ing after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
But White House spokesman Ari
Fleischer said Bush had a “solid basis”
for U.S. claims that Hussein is hiding
such arms from U.N. weapons inspec
tors, who have generally reported co
operation from Iraqi officials in the
early stages of their work.
“The Iraqi government has proved
time and time again to deceive, to mis
lead and to lie,” Fleischer said.
He did not offer evidence for the
assertion that Iraq is misleading
the inspectors.
But a senior U.S. official said this
week that, once Iraq makes a report
that the Bush administration expects
to be false, the United States will push
for more aggressive U.N. weapons in
spections designed to prove its case.
That effort will be backed by more
American intelligence-sharing with
the U.N^pspections teams, this official
and others said.
First, U.S. experts plan to take sever
al days or more to pore over what is ex
pected to be a voluminous Iraqi report,
looking for misstatements.
If the United States concludes that
Iraq is failing to comply with a U.N. dis
armament resolution that passed last
month, it could ask the U.N. Security
Council to approve military action
against Iraq or, alternately, move on its
own to topple Hussein.
Senior defense officials, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said that the
United States could start an air cam
paign against Iraq even though an in
vasion force has not yet been sent from
the United States. The ground force
could be dispatched as the air strikes
progressed, they said.
©2002,knightRidder7fribune
Information Services. Knight Ridder
correspondent Diego Ibarguen
contributed to this report.
First Lady offers her holiday
wishes, decorations to public
uiego ibarguen
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON — It’s beginning to
look a lot like Christmas in the na
tion’s capital, where a heavy snowfall
blanketed the city Thursday and the
White House unveiled its annual holi
day decorations.
First lady Laura Bush led a guided
tour of the presidential mansion,
through several rooms adorned with
grand green pine trees, radiant red
poinsettias and a tribute to animals,
great and small, that have lived and
worked alongside U.S. presidents.
Capping the day was an evening
“Pageant of Peace,” during which the
national Christmas tree was lighted.
Accompanied by the first couple’s
two dogs, Spot and Barney, Laura Bush
offered the nation her seasonal wishes.
I wish tor peace, said the first lady,
who was clad in a red suit. “I hope that
all Americans will remember other
people during this Christmas, that
theyll ask senior citizens in, visit with
people who are lonely, that they’ll
work in their food banks, that they’ll
make sure that they use their good
fortune to help people who are less
fortunate.”
She asked Americans to thank
families of military personnel around
the world.
On the tour, the first lady said this
year’s decorating theme was “all
creatures, great and small.” Animals
were represented around the mansion
in a variety of forms.
In the oval Blue Room, the 18-foot
White House Christmas tree was
covered with birds created by artists
from around the country. Laura Bush,
who described herself as an avid bird
watcher, said her favorite was a big
turkey that hung near the bottom of
the tree.
In the State Dining Room, the tradi
tional gingerbread house—made with
80 pounds of gingerbread, 50 pounds
of chocolate and 20 pounds of marzi
pan — was surrounded by marzipan
figurines of past and current presiden
tial pets. An alligator, a snake, rac
coons, sheep, dogs and others symbol
ized “animals that have lived here,
worked here, entertained and com
forted presidents and their families for
the whole history of the house,” the
first lady said.
© 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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