Yeltsin: U.S. Can't Attack Iraq

NEWS WIRE SERVICES

(New York Daily News Feb. 6 1998)

Russian President Boris Yeltsin warned yesterday his nation "shall not allow" the United States to attack Iraq, as a third aircraft carrier arrived in the Persian Gulf and 2,200 more Marines were dispatched.

"We have firmly adopted a stance of saying 'No' to the force scenario. It is impossible, it means a world war," Yeltsin told reporters.

"We must not allow a strike by force, an American strike. I told Clinton about it. No, we shall not allow that," he said.

According to State Department spokesman James Rubin, Yeltsin was apparently responding to inaccurate reports that Washington planned to use nuclear weapons to attack Iraq.

America "has no plans or intentions of using nuclear weapons," he said.

But he refused to rule them out in the case of chemical or biological arms attack.

"We do not rule out in advance any capability available to us," Rubin said. "If any country were foolish enough to attack the United States or our allies or our forces with chemical-biological weapons, our response would be swift, devastating and overwhelming."

Appearing at the White House with steadfast ally British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his side, President Clinton said military action against Iraq is not yet inevitable.

"That's up to [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein," he said.

But Clinton said the growing forces in the gulf did not aim to strike at Saddam himself. "That is not what the United Nations has authorized us to do," he said.

France and China also spoke out strongly against the military option. In Baghdad, Saddam ordered the immediate release of all Arab prisoners held in Iraq, a move apparently aimed at winning Arab sympathy.

Britain said Baghdad had made a new offer of UN access to off-limits sites that are suspected, despite Iraqi denials, of producing chemical or biological weapons.

Meanwhile, the military buildup continued to grow. The U.S. carrier Independence entered the gulf with 75 aircraft aboard and a battle group that included a cruiser, a destroyer and a submarine.