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   Defiant Iraq Talks Tough as U.S. Looks for Answers
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   Jul 16, 5:52 pm ET

   By Nadim Ladki

   AMMAN (Reuters) - Iraq has stepped up its defiance as the United
   States admits it is still looking for answers to a decade-old
   question: how to unseat President Saddam Hussein.

   Faced with mounting speculation of a U.S. military campaign to topple
   the Iraqi strongman, Baghdad has vowed to behead invaders and mobilize
   to repel any attack on its borders.

   Saddam, the man who has ruled Iraq with an iron fist for 23 years, is
   set to fuel the war of words with his main 1991 Gulf War foe when he
   speaks on Wednesday to mark the 34th anniversary of the revolution
   which brought the Ba'ath Party to power.

   Worried Russia came out strongly against military action, with Defense
   Minister Sergei Ivanov saying fears over weapons of mass destruction
   could be eased through diplomacy.

   "Russia will oppose any unilateral military action undertaken against
   Iraq without the approval of the United Nations Security Council," he
   said.

   Iraq's official INA news agency quoted President Vladimir Putin as
   saying in a letter Russia would undertake further attempts to resolve
   the Iraqi crisis through political means.

   Putin, for the anniversary, wished "Saddam health and the Iraqi people
   success in bringing life back to normal."

   France, whose Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin met U.N. arms
   inspection team chief Hans Blix on Monday, appealed for continued
   dialogue but urged Baghdad to let inspectors back into Iraq
   unconditionally.

   "The return is essential and Iraq would do well to accept it without
   delay," a ministry spokesman said in a Tuesday statement summing up
   Villepin's position.

   President Bush said last week Washington would use all tools at its
   disposal to topple Saddam. He had branded Iraq part of an "axis of
   evil" supporting terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction.
   Iraq denies the U.S. charges.

   BLAIR SAYS NO DECISION YET

   Despite the mounting speculation, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
   said the United States had not decided whether to attack Iraq but
   insisted that Saddam had to be dealt with.

   "Saddam Hussein is still trying to develop weapons of mass
   destruction. They pose an enormous threat to the world. How you deal
   with that, however, is an open question," Blair said.

   U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz acknowledged on Tuesday
   after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit that Turkey,
   which opposes military action against Iraq, had "large and legitimate"
   interests in the neighboring Arab state.

   NATO ally Turkey borders Iraq and hosts airbases used by the United
   States and Britain to launch patrols of a no-fly zone over northern
   Iraq. Turkey's support as a frontline state could be crucial in any
   U.S. military campaign against Baghdad.

   Wolfowitz said on Monday Washington sought a regime change in Iraq,
   but it has no specific plans on how to go about it.

   Iraq was unmoved.

   "There is no flexibility on the issues of dignity and destiny and
   handling the vital interests of the country," Foreign Minister Naji
   Sabri said on Monday. "We will cut the head off anyone who raises a
   hand to our borders."

   U.S. ATTACK "ONLY A MATTER OF TIME"

   Diplomats in the region say a U.S. move against Saddam was only a
   matter of time but that one of Washington's problems is the
   ineffectiveness of the exiled Iraqi opposition to present a valid
   alternative to Saddam's regime.

   A group of exiled senior Iraqi military officers held a meeting in
   London last week, but although they elected a council to represent
   them in the efforts to topple Saddam they did not provide concrete
   signs they have influence inside Iraq.

   "The question is not whether the U.S. will attack, it's a question of
   when and how," a diplomat whose country is a permanent member of the
   U.N. Security Council told Reuters.

   "The Americans still have to figure out exactly how to woo allies and
   come up with a political roadmap to post-Saddam Iraq," he said, adding
   an attack could come as soon as October.

   Articles From Reuters