KUWAIT, 29 January 2003 — Washington’s main Gulf Arab ally Kuwait yesterday welcomed as "fair" a report by UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to the UN Security Council.
"I think it was a very fair report," Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah said. "There are lots of points that we still need to know about especially the chemical issue and that Iraq has not given an explanation for."
Blix told the Security Council Iraq had been cooperating on the process of inspections but had not fully cooperated on the substance of its prohibited weapons programs.
The report might provide the ground for the United States, which is amassing troops around Iraq, to attack Baghdad over prohibited weapons. Iraq denies having any such weapons.
Kuwait, which Iraq invaded in 1990 and was liberated by a US-led alliance, is expected to be the main launch pad for any invasion of Iraq. Many Kuwaitis said they want to see the back of Saddam Hussein.
"Let’s just get this over with. Let’s push ahead and take the pain now. If we let this drag on the worse it will get for everyone concerned," businessman Waleed Al-Huwail said.
Islamist Member of Parliament Mubarak Al-Duwailah said: "I hope this report brings us closer to the end of this story. We want an end to this regime but we don’t like a war because we in Kuwait would be affected by any violence."
There was no immediate official reaction in Kuwait to comments by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz to Canada’s CBC television that he could not rule out an Iraqi strike on Kuwait if US troops massing there ever crossed north over the border into Iraq. "If there will be an attack from Kuwait I cannot say that we will not retaliate," he told CBC on Monday.
Hours later, schoolgirls filed into Kuwait’s Memorial Museum, a reminder of the day when Kuwaitis woke up to find Iraqi soldiers controlling their streets.
Hanging on a museum wall were large photographs of Kuwaiti resistance fighters who were allegedly dipped in acid by Iraqi troops during the 1990-1991 occupation.
"We are sure Saddam will attack Kuwait, with soldiers or with chemical weapons. But we have the United Nations and the United States on our side. And we have God with us," said museum guide Noura Jaafar. "We sit at home and wonder when the war will start. In 18 days? In 20 days?," she said, holding a booklet with a photograph of oil well fires started by occupying Iraqi troops.
There were no signs of anxiety on the streets following Aziz’s comments. Shoppers strolled through expensive shops in malls. Some said the comments had been made for public consumption in Iraq. "They don’t really mean anything," said Hashem Abdel Wahab.
But Kuwait isn’t taking any chances. The authorities have conducted mock public safety and evacuation exercises to prepare Kuwaitis for possible Iraqi chemical weapons attacks.
Qatar, which is hosting US forces massing for a possible war on Iraq, said inspections should run their course.
"Inspectors should be given sufficient time to complete their job. Cutting short the inspections at this stage will only jeopardize the United Nations mission," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
"Two months or three months is a short time to accomplish what has not been done for 12 years," he added.
An official in the United Arab Emirates declined to comment on the Blix report, but Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, said it was up to Iraq to avert a war.
"Bahrain supports international resolutions and the need for Iraq to abide by them to avoid the ghost of war which is threatening the region, a government spokesman told Reuters. "War or peace is in the hands of Iraq," the spokesman added.
Pakistani appeal: Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali, on a weeklong Gulf tour seeking to avert war in Iraq and to boost bilateral cooperation, called yesterday for peace in the Middle East, voicing hope that Baghdad will comply fully with UN demands to disarm.
"On the question of Iraq, we agree that conflict should be averted in this region, as it may have devastating consequences for its countries and peoples," he said after talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. "It is extremely important to maintain and preserve peace, stability and security regionally and internationally."
"We hope that Iraq will unconditionally and fully comply with all UN Security Council resolutions," the prime minister told a press conference.
"Pakistan supports the territorial integrity, stability and independence of all states in the region," he added.
Later yesterday Jamali arrived in Qatar for a two-day visit. "I will have talks with Emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani on bilateral relations, the Iraqi issue, the Middle East and Afghanistan," Jamali told journalists on arrival in Doha. (Agencies)
