In 1998, there was pressure by some for the UN Secretary General Annan to visit Iraq before there was an invasion of Iraq. This is 1998. Noted in the article is the fact Australia was already placing forces within striking distance of Iraq. In 1998. Also noted is a statement which clearly directs Mr. Annan to realize there is no WMD in Iraq or the capacity to build any. This is 1998.
This is a video that is at the CNN link clearly illustrating well nourished and well clothed Iraqi citizens, both men and women demonstrating against potential attacks into their country in 1998. How many of those people are now dead? How many were alive before March 19, 2003?
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9802/16/iraq.latest/protest.240.28.mov
How did this disarmed country become an enemy with a threat so huge the USA had to invade the country to protect the nation? How did that happen? The article is below.
Pressure mounts for U.N. chief to visit Iraq (click link above)
February 16, 1998
Web posted at: 9:08 a.m. EST (1408 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- As the United States and its allies boosted their military presence in the Persian Gulf region, pressure was growing Monday for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to go to Baghdad in a last ditch effort to resolve the impasse over U.N. inspections before U.S.-led military strikes.
Monday's latest developments:
Annan was to meet at the United Nations with the ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council members in an effort to speed up a diplomatic solution. The secretary-general has said he doesn't want to go unless he sees hope for a solution
Members of the Iraqi parliament protested with their Arab colleagues outside a U.N. building in Baghdad Monday
In a letter to Annan, the Iraqi parliament said it was the secretary-general's duty to block an attack. "Iraq does not have weapons of mass destruction. These allegations are nothing but a cover to justify an aggression against Iraq," the National Assembly said. Some parliament members demonstrated outside a U.N. office in Baghdad.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in an interview published in the Financial Times, said he saw any mission by Annan as the final chance for peace. Mubarak said public opinion in the Arab world had swung toward support for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Video of the protesters marching in the streets of Baghdad.
1.6MB / 28 sec. / 240x1801MB / 28 sec. / 160x120QuickTime movie
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf was in Lebanon, wrapping up a four-nation tour seeking the support of Iraq's Arab neighbors in the showdown. Al-Sahhaf said Baghdad hoped Annan would succeed in coming up with an "objective" formula that would allow the U.N. inspectors to survey disputed "presidential" sites, which include palaces of President Saddam Hussein.
French President Jacques Chirac will meet with Al-Sahhaf on Tuesday in Paris, Chirac's office said. Al-Sahhaf was expected to deliver a reply from Hussein to a message sent to him by Chirac.
CNN's Mike Hanna reports from Bahrain 1 min. 38 sec VXtreme streaming video
Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani became the first foreign minister from a Gulf country to visit Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, saying he sought a peaceful solution.
The United Arab Emirates defense minister, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, also has offered to mediate.
Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, far right, greets al-Thani Monday in Baghdad
In a sign that Iraq could be willing to offer concessions, government-run newspapers quoted Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan as saying Iraq "is serious and earnest" in its pursuit of a diplomatic solution. But Baghdad did not back down from its insistence that the palaces are symbols of its sovereignty and emphasized that Iraqis would fight to the death to defend them.
U.N. surveyors who arrived in Baghdad over the weekend resumed work mapping the eight sites that Hussein has declared off limits to U.N. inspectors who are trying to verify that all weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed.
Several Russian lawmakers visiting Iraq reportedly plan to stay there as a "human shield" against possible U.S.-led strikes. Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who is leading the delegation, plans to return to Moscow on Tuesday, but several other legislators will stay behind, a member of Zhirinovsky's parliament faction said in Moscow. During his trip, Zhirinovsky visited one of disputed presidential compounds.
The new three-man U.N. inspection team arrived in Baghdad on Sunday
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Australian forces including elite commandos of the Special Air Service unit will leave for the Gulf on Tuesday for possible combat action. They are the first Australian troops to be sent into an overseas conflict since the Vietnam War.
New Zealand announced it is offering its elite commando unit and two search and rescue planes.
