One of President Saddam Hussein's senior advisers today said that Iraq would stop destroying its banned al-Samoud II missile if the United States pressed ahead with plans to invade outside the authority of the United Nations.
"If it turns out that in early stages during this month America is not going the legal way...why should we continue (destroying the missiles)?," General Amer al-Saadi told a news conference.
Iraq has destroyed 10 missiles over the past two days in line with orders of chief weapons inspector Hans Blix who said the rockets exceeded the allowed limit range.
Saadi said Iraq had around 120 al-Samoud rockets. Asked whether the destruction of Baghdad's most advanced surface-to-surface missile would weaken the Iraqi military ahead of any possible US-led invasion, Saadi said: "It is not a decisive factor. Sacrificing it is a calculated operation."
