No Sanctions on Iraq Planned, U.S. Official Tells House Panel

The Bush Administration on Thursday reiterated its opposition to sanctions against Iraq, resisting pressure from congressional members who argued that it should be penalized for threatening its Mideast neighbors and gassing its own citizens.

Assistant Secretary of State John H. Kelly, citing Iraq’s oil reserves and military strength, said that improved U.S.-Iraqi relations could help bring stability to the Persian Gulf region.

“We believe there is a positive opportunity for change in behavior in Iraq, so there will be no imposition of sanctions,” Kelly told the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Near East.

“With all due respect, I detect an Alice in Wonderland character in your testimony,” retorted California Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo). “You talk about Iraq using poison gas on its own people . . . its ambassadors engaging in assassination and the attempted smuggling of weapons parts. You do a dichotomy between words and deeds.”

California Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), who recently introduced legislation calling for sanctions against Iraq, charged that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein “is a dangerous and unpredictable dictator.”

“He gassed 5,000 of his own citizens to death and he has threatened to turn weapons of mass destruction against his neighbors,” Berman said. “There are weekly reports of Iraqi attempts to steal advanced weapons technology.”

Kelly cited as positive indicators Hussein’s expulsion of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization and Iraq’s participation in U.S.-led disarmament conferences on chemical weapons. He said Iraqi representatives told him recently that the government may provide more freedoms and human rights.

But congressional members favoring sanctions cited Iraq’s use of chemical weapons in killing an estimated 5,000 Kurdish rebels and civilians during the Iran--Iraq War. They also noted Iraq’s attempt in March to smuggle U.S.-made electronic devices that could be used to trigger nuclear weapons.

The legislators focused on a Hussein speech earlier this month in which he threatened to “burn up half of Israel” with chemical weapons if attacked.

Kelly said Iraqi officials explained to him that Hussein meant he would carry out such a threat only if Israel attacked Iraq with nuclear weapons.

The Berman legislation would bar the export of certain technologies, loans to Iraq from international financial institutions and would deny export-import credits to companies dealing with Iraq.