Baghdad and Washington continued their war of words today while the prospects of war got the cold shoulder from Turkey which said it wanted UN approval for war before any action.
Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of Turkey's ruling party, said: "Turkey will not clarify its decision (on possible military action against Iraq) without a UN Security Council resolution".
Turkey, home to strategic US air bases, is facing intense pressure from Washington to provide support for a possible operation to topple the regime in Baghdad, which the United States accuses of possessing weapons of mass destruction.
Turkey's government and top brass were due to hold a key meeting today to discuss whether to give that support.
The only Muslim member of NATO, Turkey has long called for a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis, but has also insisted that any military moves against Iraq be based on international legitimacy and consensus.
Meanwhile, UN arms experts carried on with their search for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as new tensions simmered over the nuts and bolts of their work.
The latest row was over the terms under which UN inspectors may interview Iraqi scientists involved in weapons development, either now or in the past.
It comes as the Iraqi press said Washington is pursuing a strategy of lies in order to justify an attack on the country and as Iraq's vice president bridled at US insistence inspectors interview scientists outside Iraq.
As the war of words continued, three convoys of all-terrain vehicles belonging to the UN Monitoring, Control and Inspections Commission (UNMOVIC) left their base at Baghdad's former Canal Hotel at 8:30 am (5.30 Irish time), according to witnesses.
Their destination was not immediately known. Yesterday, General Hossam Mohammad Amin, head of the Iraqi body that liaises with the United Nations, said inspectors had "found no direct or indirect proof" that Iraq possesses weapons prohibited by the United Nations.
"In the final analysis, the teams have not been able to find any evidence ... to support American and British allegations that Iraq is harboring or storing banned weapons," General Amin said.
AFP
