Baghdad, March 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. dismissed signs Iraq is meeting United Nations demands to disarm and vowed to pursue a Security Council resolution that says the country has missed a final opportunity to disarm. ``There are signs of more cooperation,'' Hiro Ueki, a spokesman for the UN inspectors, said yesterday after Iraq destroyed six Al Samoud-2 missiles, two empty warheads and 14 shells that once held mustard gas. Iraq promised to provide evidence it destroyed anthrax and VX nerve gas. ``We have not seen complete disarmament,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said yesterday in Washington. It must be ``nothing less than complete, total, immediate. And it has not been any one of those three.''
Iraq has destroyed 16 its Al Samoud 2 missiles since March 1. The country is estimated to have more than 100 such missiles. The U.S. says Saddam Hussein's regime is trying to deceive the world about its weapons arsenal. The U.S. and U.K. have deployed more than 225,000 troops in the Persian Gulf ready for a war to disarm Iraq. In Fort Hood, Texas, the U.S. 1st Cavalry, the Army's largest and most heavily armored division, totaling 17,000 soldiers, received orders to prepare for overseas deployment, unit spokesman Major Vic Harris said. The first of the U.S. B-52 bombers that may be deployed over Iraq landed yesterday at an English air base used by American forces, Sky News reported. While French and Russian diplomats said Iraq's missile destruction showed inspections are working and should be given more time, U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Negroponte said a vote will be sought ``quite soon'' after weapons inspectors report to the council on Friday.
Final Opportunity
The U.S. and U.K. joined with Spain in proposing a resolution last week to the Security Council saying Iraq has missed a final opportunity to give up its weapons. The resolution has support from only four nations on the 15- member council. Nine votes are required for approval. Hans Blix, the chief UN chemical and biological arms inspector, and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will report to the Security Council on Friday and a vote on the U.S.-backed resolution will be sought ``quite soon thereafter,'' Negroponte said.
French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the decision to destroy the missiles shows inspections are producing results. Ambassador Adolfo Zinser of Mexico, a council member supporting continued inspections, called the destruction of the missiles ``very good news'' that would be a ``factor'' in his nation's decision on Iraqi compliance.
Turkey Vote
Leaders of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party plan to ask parliament to take another vote on the issue of allowing U.S. troops to use Turkish bases. Parliament will resume today. Turkey's benchmark stock index yesterday fell 12.5 percent, its worst one-day drop in two years, because Turkey had been negotiating for billions of dollars in U.S. aid in return for the bases. The government, which controls almost two-thirds of parliament, last week fell four votes short of a majority needed to pass a motion permitting 62,000 U.S. troops to be based on Iraq's border. The U.S. is counting on Turkish bases to open a northern front against Iraq. //www./quote.bloomberg.com