CHICAGO (FinalCall.com)�Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the "dean" of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said the Black legislators "are all opposed to any proposed invasion of Iraq" that is being pursued by the Bush administration.

He also said the group would welcome a briefing by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on findings from his recently completed Peace Mission to the Middle East and Africa, including a visit to Iraq.

"We don�t have a policy to articulate to you," Rep. Conyers said July 20, referring to lack of a united statement by the CBC on Iraq, "but we oppose any extension of war on terror" that operates outside the parameters of the U.S. Constitution, Rep. Conyers said, adding that only Congress can declare war against a nation.

Rep. Conyers made the statement to reporters during a press conference at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters at the start of the organization�s 5-day annual convention, which will include a speech by former President Bill Clinton. Reps. Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson Jr., both Chicago Democrats, flanked Rep. Conyers.

"Minister Louis Farrakhan should be in before the Congressional Black Caucus to give a briefing on his trip to share information from an Iraqi perspective of what�s taking place in the Middle East," Rep. Jackson told The Final Call.

"He should be seeking a meeting with (Rep.) Dennis Hassert (D-Ill.) and (Rep. Dick) Gephart (D-Mo.) for they are policymakers in Congress. [Min. Farrakhan] can be very helpful to our government at this time," Rep. Jackson said.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) put her position more bluntly.

"The U.S. has a schizophrenic policy toward Iraq," she said, adding that the U.S. international policy is "completely destructive."

"We have to work with the world community to build bridges, not walls," she said. "We should be looking for different ways to show a better face."

The last president to launch a campaign against Iraq in an attempt to overthrow President Saddam Hussein was George Bush Sr. He was successful in securing financing from other countries and appealed to other nations to use their airspace en route to Iraq.

For the past 11 years, the tiny Muslim nation has been under strict no-fly zones along its northern and southern borders. With the UN embargo and sanctions still in place, the country cannot purchase or build conventional arms to secure its own sovereign airspace.

Recently, under the banner of unfinished business, current President George W. Bush vowed to use "all tools" at his disposal to topple the Iraqi president. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bush reiterated, "It�s a stated policy of this government to have regime change. And it hasn�t changed. And we�ll use all tools at our disposal to do so."

In London, July 12-14, the Iraqi National Coalition Military Alliance, a London-based confederation of Iraqi opposition groups that has received $97 million in U.S. aid, arranged a meeting of former military personnel living in exile. More than 200 people attended to discuss how to topple Pres. Hussein. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed during a news briefing in Washington that personnel from the American embassy in London also attended the gathering.

"We do support this kind of broad-based conference of Iraqi military people," Mr. Boucher said. "We think it�s a useful tool in helping the Iraqi community move closer to the goal of a better future for the Iraqi people after Saddam Hussein."

The United Nations on July 16 was accused by Iraq of caving in to U.S. pressure. Hans Blix, executive chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission, after two days of talks with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others, failed to reach agreement on the return of arms inspectors, who left Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of a U.S.-British bombing campaign over Iraq�s alleged refusal to cooperate with the weapons experts.

Checking on Iraq�s alleged efforts to build weapons of mass destruction is key to suspending UN sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, sparking the Gulf War. Iraq wants the 12-year-old sanctions lifted before it allows the inspectors to return.

"It was very clear that America pushed the head of the inspection team, Mr. Hans Blix, to obstruct discussions and hinder a joint agreement," Iraq Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told reporters after returning from the talks in Vienna. Mr. Sabri said Mr. Blix refused to hold "meaningful discussions" on what had and had not been achieved during years of UN inspections in Iraq from May 1991. "Without agreeing on what has not been achieved, we cannot go forward," he said.

Mr. Bush, concentrating on covert action, signed an order earlier this year directing the CIA to increase support to Iraqi opposition groups and allowing possible use of CIA and Special Forces teams to assassinate the Iraqi president.

"No one has substantiated the allegations that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction or is attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction. It has been nothing but rhetorically laced speculation, not hard facts that have been presented by either the United States or Great Britain to back this up, and until they provide hard facts, there is no case for war," said former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter during a recent television interview on MSNBC.

"Let�s remember, Saddam Hussein didn�t kick the inspectors out. The U.S. ordered the inspectors out 48 hours before they initiated Operation Desert Fox�military action that didn�t have the support of the UN Security Council and which used information gathered by the inspectors to target Iraq," said Mr. Ritter.

Another former United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Iraq said July 12 that he has seen no evidence that weapons of mass destruction are currently being produced in Iraq. Hans Von Sponeck said he saw plants there producing pesticides, insecticides and material for hygienic purpose in households, on a very minor scale.

But as for the Al-Dora and Al-Fallouja plants, two facilities destroyed by U.S. bombs and alleged by Western intelligence to be back in operation, "There is nothing. It is in the same destroyed status. It is a totally locked up institution where there is not one sign of a resumed activity," he said in a televised interview, voicing concerns about the "power of disinformation."

Mr. Von Sponeck resigned in 2000 to protest against UN sanctions against Iraq.

Regarding his UN resignation, Mr. Von Sponeck chimed, "When you discover you are associated with a policy that makes life worse for people in the long run, you can�t be associated to that."