White House Dismisses Iraqi Offer Mon Sep 16, 9:35 PM ET By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
The White House dismissed Iraq's offer Monday to let weapons inspectors return there unconditionally - a move that could be an attempt to split the Security Council and preclude stern U.S. action against Iraq.
The White House released a written statement that called the offer "a tactical step by Iraq in hopes of avoiding strong U.N. Security Council action."
"As such, it is a tactic that will fail," spokesman Scott McClellan said in the statement.
"This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions," McClellan said in Washington.
Another White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the letter did not surprise the administration, because of a historical pattern of such 11th-hour communiques and because Bush administration officials had prior indications that Iraq was preparing it.
The administration seeks three things in a new U.N. resolution: a list of Iraqi violations of previous resolutions; steps Iraq needs to take to comply; and consequences Iraq will face if it does not comply.
The new Iraqi offer meets none of the administration's demands, and U.S. officials see no reason to budge from its position, this official said. A second senior official described White House's attitude toward the letter as "very, very dismissive."
[...]