Baghdad Fights Back With Words

Iraq launched a public relations offensive against the United States and Britain, saying it had nothing to hide and that Washington was even welcome to send in CIA agents to direct U.N. arms inspectors to any suspect sites.

President Saddam Hussein and his officials said Sunday that Iraq was doing all it could to cooperate with the United Nations, and he urged the world to halt the American-British war machine.

Washington was unmoved. “While we have not given up on disarming Iraq through the United Nations, we are now entering a final phase in how we compel Saddam Hussein to disarm,” a White House official said. He declined to comment on the offer to accept CIA agents.

Gen. Amir Saadi, one of Hussein’s top advisors, told a news conference in Baghdad that U.N. inspections during the last four weeks had shown U.S. and British charges that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction to be “lies and baseless.”

Saadi challenged Washington and London over statements that there were holes in the arms declaration Iraq presented to the United Nations two weeks ago, and he said Baghdad was ready to answer questions from the Western allies.

“We do not even have any objections if the CIA sent somebody with the inspectors to show them the suspected sites,” he said, making it clear that Iraq stands by statements that it does not possess weapons of mass destruction.

Hussein accused the U.S. of trying to harass him. “The world should tell America now there is no need for more aggression and sanctions on Iraq in order to let it cooperate freely” with the U.N., he told a group of visitors.

From maneuvers to planning, the U.S. and Britain have made no secret of preparing for possible war to back up demands that Hussein come clean -- nearly 12 years after the Persian Gulf War.

London has been Washington’s staunchest ally on Iraq.

The United States last week condemned Iraq’s arms declaration as incomplete and therefore a “material breach” of a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in November.

Defying the resolution carries the implicit threat of war.

The U.S. is forging ahead with a buildup that may put more than 100,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region by February.