Saddam ready to disprove arms claims
However, Washington, which has threatened to go to war unless Iraq can prove it has renounced biological, chemical and nuclear arms programmes, insisted it had intelligence information to back its contention.
No inspections were taking place yesterday or today because of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, but all eyes were on Sunday's deadline for Iraq to come clean about its programmes.
Iraq insists that, since it has no such programmes, it will merely be listing "dual use technology" that has peaceful as well as military applications.
"Some might claim we didn't give them (the inspectors) the proper chance to disprove the American allegations that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction during the period of the inspectors' absence," Saddam said in remarks broadcast on Iraqi television, his first comment on the inspections since they resumed last week. "For that reason we shall provide them with such a chance, after which, if the weaklings remain weak and the cowardly remain cowards, then we shall take the stand that befits our people, principles and mission."
The inspectors have reported nothing but co-operation from Iraq in their visits to 20 suspect sites since November 27. So far, they have found nothing untoward. Nevertheless, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters: "The US president and the secretary of defence would not assert as bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true."
The White House has already said it is not convinced that the current method of inspection can find hidden weapons, and has urged chief UN inspector Hans Blix in vain to adopt a more aggressive approach. At the same time Iraqi officials have shown the first signs of irritation with the inspections. In an address in Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqi Vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan accused the inspectors of spying for the US and Israel and helping Washington prepare for war.
Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz told ABC's "Nightline" in the United States on Wednesday: "The whole issue of weapons of mass destruction is a hoax. When they find that there are no weapons of mass destruction, they would use another pretext to attack."
Meanwhile, anti-Americanism is rising around the world, a US survey of global public opinion revealed yesterday. The Pew Research Centre found the trend was most dramatic in Muslim countries, and was strongest in Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan.
In the survey, based on 38,000 interviews in 44 countries, researchers found the US is falling out of favour in 19 of 27 countries where a trend could be identified.
Interviews showed 75% of those asked in Jordan had an unfavourable opinion of America, as did 69% of Egyptians and Pakistanis and 59% of Lebanese.
Ill will towards the US was also found in supposed allies like Britain, Canada and Germany.
