Iraq fires at US, British warplanes in no-fly zones

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration criticized Iraq Monday for continuing to fire on U.S. and British warplanes patrolling over two no-fly zones, saying the skirmishes are more evidence of Saddam Hussein's defiance of the international community.\n"With each missile fired at coalition air crews, Iraq demonstrates its contempt for U.N. resolutions," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news briefing.\nIraq has fired on no-fly-zone patrols 67 times since promising Sept. 16 to allow United Nations weapons inspectors back into the country, said Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.\nThe White House is trying to persuade both Congress and the United Nations to support resolutions authorizing the use of military force against Iraq. The Pentagon briefing was aimed at showing that Saddam regularly violates U.N. resolutions.\nHis voice rising, Rumsfeld said Iraq's claimed willingness to allow open weapons inspections was "patently false."\n"It bothers the dickens out of me that U.S. and British pilots are getting fired at day after day after day, with impunity," Rumsfeld said.\nMyers showed video clips from fighter jets and pilotless Predator spy drones that he said showed Iraqi antiaircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile fires. One video, which Myers said was shot by a Predator in the southern no-fly zone, showed a two-missile battery swiveling in a circle, then firing one of the missiles.\nMeanwhile, the Senate worked to pin down the language of a congressional resolution and was likely to begin debate Tuesday on a policy authorizing Bush to use military force if necessary to deprive Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction.\nOn the international front, "the focus remains on building support" for the U.S. position among Russia, France and China, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. All hold veto power at the U.N. Security Council and all are reluctant to support the U.S. plan.\nSecretary of State Colin Powell had a flurry of telephone conversations over the weekend and Monday with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and foreign ministers.\nWhile differences remain on a U.N. resolution, Powell was "encouraged" by the conversations, which included one Monday with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.\nFrance, however, is holding out for two resolutions, including one that would delay any threat to use force until the results of a new round of inspections are in, while the United States continues to push for a single, tough resolution.\nMeetings between the inspection team and Iraqi officials, designed to nail down plans for the return of inspectors, began in Vienna Monday. Iraq said over the weekend that it would not comply with any new U.N. resolutions governing inspections, meaning inspectors would not have access to sprawling presidential palaces.\n"The meetings in Vienna are focused on the existing resolutions, which the world knows have not been honored," Fleischer said.\nOn Capitol Hill, lawmakers still face a partisan divide over how to confront the threat posed by Iraq, though the White House hopes Congress soon will pass a resolution authorizing military force to topple Saddam.\nRepublicans and Democrats appearing on the Sunday talk shows said they hoped a resolution would win overwhelming support, even as they sparred over the United Nations' role and the severity of the threat from the Iraqi president.\nGOP lawmakers, lining up behind President Bush, said it is unlikely that Saddam will allow inspectors unfettered access to search for weapons of mass destruction.\nDemocrats, including House members visiting Baghdad, urged the Bush administration to work closely with the United Nations and to let inspectors resume their work.\n"You don't start out by putting the gun to their head and saying we're going to shoot you if you blink," said Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., speaking from Iraq.\nFleischer, asked about this, said, "It struck me as somewhat remarkable that a member of Congress goes to Baghdad, Iraq, where he said Saddam Hussein needs to be given the benefit of the doubt and that Saddam Hussein may be more believable than President Bush."\nCongress may consider the resolution this week, though negotiations on terms continue.\n"There is no evidence that I have seen that indicates there is an imminent threat," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said on CNN's "Late Edition." There is time to build international support for U.S. action, she said.