Bush order removing Iraq's name from terrorism sponsoring states list

The US President George W. Bush yesterday issued a decision for removing Iraq's name from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism after the toppling of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

In a memorandum addressed to the US state secretary Colin Powell, Bush said "a fundamental change has been made on the leadership and policies of the government of Iraq. The Iraqi government does not support international terrorism." He added "the Iraqi government gave assurances it will not support international terrorism operations in the future."

Removing Iraq's name from the list requires Powell's notification to the American Congress of Bush's ratification that Iraq does not support terrorism. The US Department Of State list on countries supporting terrorism includes in addition to Iraq, each of Cuba, Iran, Northern Korea, Libya, Syria and Sudan.