New York, Feb 25: A defiant Iraqi President Saddam Hussein indicated he would not destroy the Al Samoud missiles as demanded by UN and challenged US President George W Bush to an open debate on the need to take military action against Baghdad. "We do not have missiles that go beyond the proscribed range," Saddam Hussein said in a television interview indicating that Baghdad would resist attempts to dismantle its missiles considered to be at the heart of the country's defence. Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has told Iraq to start destroying the missiles by March 1, contending that in some tests its range was more than the 150 kms allowed under the UN Security Council resolution. Iraq, however argues it happened because the missile lacks a guidance system and did not carry a warhead which is why it followed a larger trajectory than 150 kms.
Bush's bete noire, however, challenged him to a "live" televised debate on the need for a war. "This will be an opportunity for him, if he's committed to war, this will be an opportunity to convince the world," Hussein said. The White House, however, outrightly rejected the offer of debate as a "ridiculous stalling attempt by Saddam."
Bureau Report