Saddam Hussein
Defiant speech
A spokesperson for the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq has denied that they are 'spies'.
Hiro Ueki said that the inspectors were conducting their work 'professionally' and 'objectively' and denied claims made by Saddam Hussein during an Army Day speech on television.
The Iraqi president accused UN weapons inspectors of carrying out intelligence work. He also said Iraq had prepared for a possible US attack.
He said the UNSCOM team were failing to reveal the lies of liars, and accused them of asking workers questions that were not what they seemed and gathering information about army camps and legitimate military production.
'These things, or most of them, are pure intelligence work,' he said.
The Iraqi leader described US threats to disarm Iraq by force as the 'hiss of snakes and bark of dogs' but said his country had prepared for any possible invasion.
'Nothing disappoints and puts down (the enemy) more than if the people prepare to confront any additional possibility for aggression which is already taking place daily on Iraq ... Here, we have prepared for everything,' he said.
The US administration has described the comments as unfortunate. US spokesman Ari Fleischer said Saddam Hussein's praise for Palestinian suicide bombers was 'horrific'.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary has concurred with remarks by an unidentified minister that the chances of war with Iraq are 60-40 against. He said that, while the situation changes every day, the chance of war was now less than 50% because the weapons inspections were being carried out.
