US President George W. Bush warned Iraq his patience was running out for it to come clean over any weapons of mass destruction, and a top UN arms inspector demanded more cooperation from Baghdad.
"I'm sick and tired of games and deception," Bush said on Tuesday in one his sharpest attacks on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a huge build-up of US warplanes, ships and tens of thousands of troops in the oil-rich Gulf region gathers pace.
"I haven't seen any evidence that he has disarmed. Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm," Bush said.
Britain, flexing its military muscle alongside Washington, said it was ready, like the US, to go to war against Iraq with or without a fresh UN resolution.
The dollar fell to fresh three-year lows against the euro and oil prices rose as financial markets got a case of jitters on Tuesday, anxiously watching for clues as to if and when there might be a war. London Brent crude futures at one stage touched $31.25, the highest level since December 2000.
Iraq, the world's eighth biggest oil exporter under tight UN sanctions but whose proven oil reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia's, said on Tuesday it had nothing to hide. "Saddam Hussein is a courageous leader and will ... fight until the last Iraqi bullet," said Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz.
UN nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei made clear he and fellow top UN inspector Hans Blix were going to Baghdad this weekend for some tough talking on whether Iraq has chemical, biological or nuclear weapons or long-range missiles.
"We still need further cooperation on the part of Iraq," the International Atomic Energy Agency chief said in Moscow.
Washington and London have threatened war to back up their intelligence that Iraq does have arms of mass destruction, and US officials have signalled that any failure by Baghdad to cooperate with the inspectors could trigger military action.
This weekend's talks in Baghdad will be key to a major report that Blix and ElBaradei are due to make to the UN Security Council on Jan. 27 on Iraqi compliance.
Blix repeated remarks that his teams had uncovered smuggled weapons-related material but said it was unclear if it was linked to arms that breached UN resolutions.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2