Iraqis remain defiant to UK/US pressure

Iraq tonight sought to deflect the growing momentum towards military action against the Baghdad regime by offering to answer any questions from Britain or America about its weapons programmes.

Saddam Hussein’s chief scientific adviser Amir al-Saabi even offered to allow the CIA to join the United Nations weapons inspection teams currently scouring the country for any remaining nuclear, biological or chemical programmes.

At an extraordinary televised news conference, mixing defiance with offers of co-operation, he dismissed Britain and America’s criticisms of Iraq’s declaration of its remaining capabilities as being based in “old, rehashed reports” from the “discredited” UN inspection programme of the 1990s.

“We are ready to deal with each of those questions if you ask us,” he said. “We do not even have any objections if the CIA sent somebody with the inspectors to show them the suspected sites.”

He accused British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and US Secretary of State Colin Powell - who have both accused Iraq of failing to make a full declaration – of rushing to judgment before the UN inspectors could examine the 12,000 page report.

“Why don’t they let the specialised organs of the United Nations get on with their task?” he said.

“Why interfere in this rude fashion?”

His comments appeared to reflect a growing confidence within the Baghdad regime that the UN inspection teams were not succeeding in their hunt to find evidence that Iraq still has banned weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes.

His intervention came as Downing Street moved to play down reports that more than 5,000 Royal Marine commandos were preparing to join the Americans in a massive amphibious landing operation to capture the vital southern port of Basra.

The British Ministry of Defence dismissed the report in The Sunday Telegraph, suggesting they would be part of a naval task force which sails next month for the Gulf, as “speculation”.

A Downing Street spokesman added: “No decision has been taken on military action. We want a peaceful solution. The choice is Saddam’s.”

US officials said at the weekend that they wanted the UN to more than double the number of inspectors in Iraq – to around 250 to 300 – so that they can intensify the rate of inspections.

The White House joined Britain in promising to make available secret intelligence to the UN teams after the chief inspector Hans Blix complained last week that London and Washington were withholding information which could help uncover any hidden weapons.

Mr al-Saabi meanwhile said that Iraq would provide a list of scientists requested by the UN inspectors before the end of the year.

UN Security Council resolution 1441 allows the inspectors to take key scientists and their families out of the country so that they can interview them without pressure being brought to bear on them by the regime.

The British and Americans believe that this could be the inspectors best hope of tracking down any Iraqi chemical or biological programmes which are particularly hard to find.