M'sia willing to cooperate but demands proof against Iraq
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad today said Malaysia would cooperate with the United States in the war against Iraq but first demanded proof that Baghdad possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"We are not anti-American. If they convince us, we will go along with them just as in the case of the fight against terrorism. We are prepared to fully cooperate with them," the premier told reporters.
Mahathir said Malaysia's view was in line with the rest of the international community, adding that there was insufficient evidence to show that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction in violation of UN resolutions.
"We are not convinced. We cannot accept, even the world has not accepted. There is not enough evidence that Iraq is linked to (Osama bin Laden's) al-Qaeda network or they own weapons of mass destruction," he said.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad today said Malaysia would cooperate with the United States in the war against Iraq but first demanded proof that Baghdad possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"We are not anti-American. If they convince us, we will go along with them just as in the case of the fight against terrorism. We are prepared to fully cooperate with them," the premier told reporters.
Mahathir said Malaysia's view was in line with the rest of the international community, adding that there was insufficient evidence to show that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction in violation of UN resolutions.
"We are not convinced. We cannot accept, even the world has not accepted. There is not enough evidence that Iraq is linked to (Osama bin Laden's) al-Qaeda network or they own weapons of mass destruction," he said.
No justification
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Tuesday said the weapons inspectors' report to the UN Security Council showed there was no justification for war against Iraq, and warned that an invasion could lead to increased Islamic terrorism.
"How could one justify (saying) that Iraq has failed to cooperate with the UN team? We cannot support any decision now to say war should be declared on Iraq."
US President George W Bush in his State of the Union address promised fresh proof next week of Baghdad's "utter contempt" for peaceful disarmament.
Bush also said Washington would go before the Security Council Feb 5 to detail evidence of Iraq's ties to terrorists - including al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Iraq has dismissed accusations of its links with al-Qaeda.
UN Security Council Resolution 1441, adopted last November, warns Iraq of "serious consequences" if it fails to disarm voluntarily, but does not explicitly spell out what those might be. - AFP
