Iraq is ready to respond to any US attack"within the hour," Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mr Tareq Aziz said today.
It was the first official Iraqi reaction to congressional backing forUS President George W Bush to use future force against Baghdad.
"I am not suprised by this vote, and we will confront theseplans of aggression," Mr Aziz said of the joint resolution, adoptedlast night in Washington by US House ofRepresentatives and Senate.
It authorises President Bush to use force "in a manner necessary andappropriate to defend the national security of the United Statesagainst the continuing threat posed by Iraq and enforce all relevantUnited Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq".
Asked when an attack might come, Mr Aziz said: "We are not the ones who decide that, but weare ready to respond to it within the hour".
Mr Aziz called for Arab leaders "to face up to the aggressionthrough all diplomatic and other means," warning that a war wouldharm all countries of the region.
Mr Aziz arrived in Beirut fromDamascus on a mission aimed at rallying Arab support against the USthreats to attack Baghdad over its alleged weapons of massdestruction.
AFP