Iraq: U.S. has no evidence
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Iraq lashed out against U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union message, declaring "the bottom line is you can accuse us as much as you like -- but you cannot provide one piece of evidence."
Iraq's U.N. ambassador Mohammed Aldouri said: "We call on the United Nations to shoulder its responsibilities to protect Iraq from this colonial administration which is blinded by its oil fever."
He also issued a warning to the United States as it prepares for a possible war on Iraq. "The American invasion did not succeed in Vietnam, and will never succeed in Iraq," Aldouri said.
The ambassador called sections of Tuesday's address that dealt with Iraq as "business as usual from President Bush."
He added Iraqis will reject any attempt at colonialism -- just as it did when invaded by a British general in 1917.
"We will do so whenever there's an attack on the country," he said. "Our independence is dear to us. We will spare nothing to defend it."
Aldouri also pointed to quotes from U.N. chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, who have said they have so far found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction programs. Bush has said U.S. intelligence shows Iraq is engaging in prohibited weapons programs.
"Iraq has implemented all resolutions related to disarmament issues," Aldouri insisted, adding that "we will go a step further and proactively cooperate with inspectors to prove these allegations are nothing but fabrications."