Canada supports US response to Saddam Hussein

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien expressed support for the response of the United States to the Iraqi attack on the Kurdish population in and around the city of Irbil.

The Prime Minister said that "Saddam Hussein has cynically used local conflicts among local Kurdish groups to move his forces into the no-fly zone, and launch a massive attack on Irbil."

"The use of cruise missiles against military targets constitutes a measured and clear response to Iraqi military actions, while ensuring to the extent possible the safety of civilian populations in Iraq," the Prime Minister said. "An intervention of this nature was necessary to avert a larger human tragedy in northern Iraq."

The Prime Minister called on Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops immediately and completely from the Kurdish regions in the north, and to end his oppression of the civilian Iraqi population, especially in the northern region.

PMO Press Office (613) 957-5555


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