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Iraq crisis

Chances of a peaceful solution fading, says US envoy

Staff Correspondent
Chances of any peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis are disappearing fast and an effort to disarm Iraq will be an expensive exercise, said US Ambassador Mary Ann Peters yesterday.
"The possibility of peaceful resolution is shrinking," Peters told a press briefing, held at the American Center in Dhaka under tight security.
"I am not in a position to say specifically the amount to be involved with the exercise (disarm Iraq by any means). But it would be quite expensive."
The US envoy to Dhaka, however, said there is debate and disagreement even in the US administration over the financial cost in the event of a war.
The impact of a war on poor and small countries depends on what will happen in Iraq, she said.
The US troops are well prepared to make the war shorter to avoid any major human casualty, especially of civilians, she said.
"I am not privy to all military plans. But our troops are well trained to get hold of the weapons of mass destruction that Iraq has before anybody gets the chance to use them," she said.
A US-led war on Iraq without UN approval would not put the world body in any existence crisis, she thinks. "This a serious time for UN…I hope it (UN) would go on."
Avoiding any direct reply to a query about Dhaka's support in any form for a war, Peters said the US embassy is always discussing the development with the Bangladesh government.
"I don't want to disclose the details…Bangladesh is a partner of US in the war against terrorism."
"Your foreign minister said on many occasions that Saddam must comply with the UN resolution," she said.
She denied the allegation that the US is more interested to grab oil resources in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.
"This (allegation) is unjustified and insulting to my country. Had we have any plan we could have done this in 1991 (during the Gulf War)," Peters said. "We have plenty of money to meet our energy needs."
"Our government thinks anybody other than Saddam Hussein would be a better option," she said in reply to whether the US thinks of anybody as replacement for Saddam.