Iraq's parliament will reconvene on Tuesday for a second and final session to decide whether to recommend rejection of the UN Security Council resolution calling the country to disarm.
The 250-member National Assembly will vote on a recommendation by its Arab and international relations committee that it reject Resolution 1441.
Committee chairman Mr Salem al-Qubaissi said: "From what I heard today, there is strong support [within the house] for the recommendation," he said.
Mr Qubaissi earlier told the emergency session - convened at President Saddam Hussein's behest - his committee recommended rejecting the US-drafted resolution, which warns Iraq of "serious consequences" unless it agrees to sweeping arms inspection terms.
At the same time, the committee recommended mandating "the political leadership to do what it deems fit to defend the Iraqi people" and mandating Saddam to take the appropriate decision, he said.
Parliament lends its "full support" to all decisions taken by the Iraqi leader and which will be taken in the future, Mr Qubaissi added.
The parliament's recommendation will be submitted to the ruling Revolution Command Council (RCC) chaired by Saddam, who has until November 15th to give his verdict to the United Nations on Resolution 1441.
The Iraqi leadership is officially said to be still "thinking quietly" about what has been labeled a "bad and unfair" resolution, hinting through state-run media that it might end up accepting the harsh conditions in order to deny the United States a chance to attack.
"The leadership is still studying this resolution and its [likely] effects on the Iraqi people and Iraq's future. At this point, I cannot say for sure what the leadership's view is," Mr Qubaissi said.
But he rejected the contention that parliament would be contradicting itself if it both rejected the resolution and left the final decision to the leadership, as his recommendation proposes.
"We in the National Assembly are used to giving advice to the leadership," he said, noting that it was the Iraqi president who had asked parliament to give its view on Resolution 1441.
However, "the leadership has its own visions on the basis of which it takes the appropriate decisions. Hence, the parliament [will] recommend rejecting the resolution while mandating the leadership to do what it deems appropriate to defend Iraq's security, independence and sovereignty," he said.
AFP