| The Bush administration has not
convinced Americans or Europeans that a military attack on Iraq is
necessary, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter said on Friday.
"Our government has not made a case for a pre-emptive
military strike against Iraq, either at home or in Europe," the
Democratic former president said in a statement.
"It is sobering to realize how much doubt and consternation
has been raised about our motives for war in the absence of
convincing proof of a genuine threat from Iraq."
Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, also said it would
be "suicidal" for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to
threaten any of his neighbours at a time when the United States was
deploying its military forces in the Gulf in preparation for a
possible war against Iraq.
The Bush administration has threatened to use military action to
remove Saddam if he does not comply with United Nations efforts to
ensure he has no weapons of mass destruction.
UN weapons inspectors, who returned to Iraq last November after a
four-year hiatus, are scheduled to present a progress report on
Iraq's compliance with UN resolutions on February 14.
Carter said the United States and the world would be better off
if the White House supported the strengthening of the inspection
process in Iraq.
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