Powell: Libya is no longer a terrorism sponsoring country; denies to have thought of resignation over Iraq

The US Secretary of State Colin Powell denied that he had ever thought of resigning from his post because of the invasion of Iraq. He warned that the US will wait for a short period before it will decide on the use of force in Falluja.

Powell said on whether he thinks of resignation in response to what was stated in the book of the American journalist Bob Woodword on that he raised doubts on the difficulty of occupying Iraq, Powell answered " No." He added " I explained to my colleague at the UN Security Council, the negatives and positives of such an operation but I was also supportive to what we are trying to do." Powell explained " the diplomatic solution was debated but by the ultimate end we, and the president had reached the conclusion this solution will not be useful and the President took a decision that the military action will be the appropriate."

On Libya, Powell said " it is in our interest to welcome Libya's return back to the international community." Powell was asked if Libya still has contacts with terrorist organizations " or is responsible for killing Americans in recent years, he said " this is not what I know." On the expected date to lift Libya's name from the terrorism sponsor states, Powell said " we will test their record in the coming months before removing them from the list. It will be a nearby date but will be a cautious date also."