US takes issue with Iraqi bull import complaint

US State Department spokesman James Rubin said yesterday that US opposition to a contract under which Iraq would import French bulls is not because the bulls themselves are considered dual use items with military implications, as an Iraqi complaint alleged.

"The Iraqi letter in question is complete baloney," Rubin said, calling it "a classic Iraqi tactic."

Rubin said the issue that caused the US opposition to the contract is the inclusion of a vaccine. "That vaccine is on the so-called 10-51 list of goods which can be used as inputs for weapons of mass destruction, and which, if approved for import to Iraq, the Security Council has declared should be monitored by weapons inspectors," he said.

Rubin continued, "There are no weapons inspectors in Iraq, so the US raised concern about how the vaccine could be used as an input, and the Iraqis tried to engage in a little public relations sleight of hand by claiming that we were concerned about the import of live bulls. That is bull."