Arabs warn of ‘Gates of Hell’

ARAB League chief Amr Moussa said Thursday a strike against Iraq would open the gates of hell in the Middle East, and urged Baghdad to readmit weapons inspectors in co-ordination with the United Nations.

The White House said on Thursday President Bush believed there was enough evidence to justify ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Bush has said he will ask Congress to back possible military action against Iraq and will outline the threat posed by its arms program at the UN this month.

Resolutions issued by the foreign ministers from 20 Arab states called for a “complete rejection of threats of aggression against some Arab countries, in particular Iraq”.

The brief statement did not specifically refer to weapons inspectors, but Moussa said the ministers had agreed they must be allowed back as part of an overall solution to the crisis.

“We will continue to work to avoid a military confrontation or a military action because we believe that it will open the gates of hell in the Middle East,” Moussa told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting.

“When it comes to the issue of Iraq, we again reiterate the importance of the full implementation of Security Council resolutions.

“We are for the return of the inspectors within an agreement, an understanding, between the government of Iraq and the secretary-general of the United Nations,” he said.

The United States says it has not decided whether or not to use force to oust Saddam, whom Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction. Iraq denies the charge.

Many countries insist that Iraq should be given a chance to readmit weapons inspectors before any strike is considered. Moussa said Arab states were seeking a diplomatic solution and had already helped bring Iraqi and UN officials together.

The ministerial resolutions on Iraq also called for lifting UN sanctions, an “interlinked and scheduled implementation of all the requirements of the Security Council resolutions” and a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking to reporters on his way out, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri accused Israel of possessing weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and other weapons.

Moussa accused the world community of double standards, complaining while it insisted Iraq obey UN resolutions, it failed to measure Israel by the same yardstick concerning its occupation of Palestinian territory.

“When it comes to the implementation of Security Council resolutions, we wonder why should we insist only on Iraq to implement Security Council resolutions. Although this is correct. We should call on Iraq to implement Security Council resolutions, but what about Israel?”

Asked about reports US troops might use Qatar as a staging post against Iraq, Moussa said: “The Qatari foreign minister completely denied these reports. We have to believe the officials, though if it were true it would be disturbing.”

Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim left the talks after Wednesday’s opening session for an appointment in Geneva.