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Saddam issues decree banning WMD
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has issued a decree banning the importation and production of weapons of mass destruction. While the decree bans individuals and companies from importing or producing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, it makes no mention of government or state-run entities. The Iraqi government insists it possesses no such weapons. The order came a few hours before U.N. weapons inspectors reported to the Security Council on Iraq's compliance with the U.N. resolution to disarm. (Full story) Saddam made the order after meeting his top officials Friday, and shortly before convening an extraordinary session of the Iraqi parliament. "All ministries should implement this decree and take whatever measures are necessary and punish people who do not adhere to it," said the presidential order. The decree goes some way to meeting a key condition in the U.N. resolution, and could be considered a timely and important step, CNN's Nic Robertson said. However, the United States said it placed no value on the decree. "It is impossible to place any credibility in the laws, so-called laws, of a totalitarian dictatorship," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "If one would want to make believe and pretend that Iraq was a democracy that would pass meaningful laws, it would be 12 years late and 26,000 liters of anthrax short; it would be 12 years late and 38,000 liters of botulism short, and it would be 12 years late, 30,000 unfilled chemical warheads short." Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was more optimistic in his report to the Security Council, calling the decree a "step in the right direction for Iraq." Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, speaking ahead of ElBaradei at the Security Council, said he had not yet reviewed details of the decree. Also on Friday, Saddam's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, was urged by Pope John Paul II to take "concrete steps" to comply with the United Nations. The pair met at the Vatican. (Full story) Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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