November 9, 2001	Friday	Shaba’an 22, 1422

WASHINGTON, Nov 8: US Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned the United States could turn its attention to Iraq after achieving the goals of its military campaign in Afghanistan.

“We must end Osama bin Laden’s terrorist threat to the world, and deal with the Taliban regime, who has given them haven,” Powell told reporters on Wednesday, after talks with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shaykh Sabah al-Hamad Al Sabah.

He said that after the goals of Operation Enduring Freedom are achieved, the United States will turn its attention to terrorism throughout the world.

“And nations such as Iraq, which have tried to pursue weapons of mass destruction, should not think that we will not be concerned about these activities, and will not turn our attention to them,” Powell pointed out.

An opinion poll by Zogby International revealed on Wednesday that 80 per cent of Americans believed that launching military strikes against Iraq and removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power would be an effective move in the war against terrorism declared by President George W. Bush.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz was quoted on Sunday by a Lebanese newspaper as saying that Kuwait had always been a part of Iraq.

But Powell dismissed the remarks as inconsequential.

“Well, Mr Tareq Aziz has been making these rather ridiculous and threatening statements for many years, so I take them all with a grain of salt,” the secretary of state said.

The Bush administration has been under increased pressure from Republicans in Congress to move against Iraq in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks, even though administration officials have repeatedly said there is no credible evidence implicating Baghdad in the terrorist act.

Late last month, Aziz told The Sunday Telegraph of London that the United States and Britain planned to launch 1,000 missiles at 300 Iraqi targets in a bid to topple Saddam Hussein under the pretext of waging war against terrorism.

British officials have denied the charge. —AFP