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Iraqi Leader Blasts U.S. 'Aggression'
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By George Edmonson
Staff

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on Monday praised a weekend gathering in London of exiled Iraqi military officers and others seeking the end of Hussein's rule. The United States will host a series of workshops "with experts and others who are in the Iraqi opposition" to examine issues related to Iraq's future after Hussein, Boucher said.

WASHINGTON -- AJC
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein lashed out at what he called American aggression against the Arab world, while the United States continued Tuesday to try to build support against his nation.

Hussein was quoted as saying that the United States was targeting not only Iraq but all Arab nations, and he praised suicide bombers against Israel, whose families are said to have received $25,000 each from Iraq.

The Iraqi leader gave the rare interview, published Tuesday in several Arab periodicals, to a University of Qatar political science professor, according to accounts from Western news agencies.

He was expected to continue his verbal attacks on the United States and Israel today in a speech marking the 34th anniversary of the coup that brought his Baath Party to power.

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz met Tuesday with officials in Turkey, a U.S. ally in the war against Afghanistan and a potentially vital logistical asset for an attack against its neighbor, Iraq.
(More: AccessAtlanta.com News Source)
2002 © The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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