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Thu 13 Mar, 2003 11:04 am
Two Iraqi diplomats have been given 72 hours to leave the United States.
The United States said the two men, based at the Iraqi mission to the United Nations in New York, "were engaged in activities outside the scope of their official function".
This is usually diplomatic coding for spying.
US officials say that 60 other countries will be asked to expel Iraqi diplomats whom, the US says, are really undercover officers who threaten American interests worldwide.
Uptil now 3 other countries already expelled Iraqi Diplomats. Romania ordered five Iraqi diplomats out of the country, saying their presence had became "undesirable". The Philippine Government ordered an Iraqi diplomat to leave the country over his alleged links to Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf. Sweden also has decided to expel two Iraqi diplomats from Stockholm in response to the request from the United States.
Other countries refused to expell the Iraqi diplomats because they saw no reason for doing so, and in a way said to the US Govt "Mind your own business"
In an unusual diplomatic move, the Bush administration called Thursday for the expulsion of Iraqi diplomats by all countries that recognize and deal with the government in Baghdad.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the diplomats represented a "corrupt and ruthless regime" and cited Iraq (news - web sites)'s refusal to disarm.
Also on Thursday, the State Department temporarily closed embassies and consulates in about 15 countries. The decision was based on a judgment of the security situation in those countries by the senior American diplomats there.
Two weeks ago, the United States asked more than 60 countries to expel several hundred Iraqi diplomats the Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) identified as suspected intelligence agents.
In the new request, made overnight, the United States also asked countries to try to prevent the destruction of Iraqi documents in Iraqi embassies and consulates and to freeze Iraq's bank accounts so the money could be used by a successor, postwar government.
As for the diplomats themselves, Boucher said they might be able to find their way back to Iraq or could apply for asylum.
After the United States lodged its earlier allegation of espionage by Iraqi diplomats, two low-level attaches at the Iraqi mission to the United Nations (news - web sites) were ordered expelled. Australia accused a diplomat of spying and expelled him.
In Thursday's request, the State Department set no deadline for the expulsions, and it was not clear whether other countries would agree to the request.
Boucher described the requested expulsions as temporary, saying a new government would be installed after the war and would choose new envoys.
Countries where U.S. diplomatic outposts were shuttered Thursday included Israel, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Pakistan, Syria and Norway. The U.S. Embassy in Paris reduced its services mostly to handling visas, as did the U.S. Embassy in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The FBI has also been "voluntarily interviewing" Iraqi born citizens in the US.
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