Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

March 13, 2002

Excerpt

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Q Mr. Vice President, Mr. President, I'd like to put this to you, President Mubarak, first. Saddam Hussein has said that he will not accept U.N. inspectors. I'm wondering if you believe that the best and perhaps only way for the United States to ensure that it and its allies would be safe from an Iraqi-sponsored terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction is to topple Saddam Hussein and his regime. And if so, do you think there has been enough or any serious consideration about what would replace that government and bring stability to the region?

PRESIDENT MUBARAK: We'll try hard with Saddam Hussein to accept the U.N. inspectors to go there, and we are going to meet with some of his special envoys and tell them that this is a must.

And the I think the secretary-general of the Arab League has discussed this issue when he was visiting Iraq a couple of weeks ago. And I think he had the approval from Saddam Hussein that he could start negotiations with the U.N. secretary-general, and I think, as far as I -- my knowledge is that he's going to accept the inspectors. We will try this direction as far as we can. Then after that, if there is nothing happened, would find out what would be done in that direction.

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