IMHO, Saddam just lobbed the ball back to George Bush with this bit of open non-compliance:
U.N., Iraq Fail to Agree on Key Inspection Issues
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, February 9, 2003; 7:45 PM
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 9 -- The top U.N. arms experts said tonight that they were unable to reach agreement with Saddam Hussein's government on several key weapons issues they had traveled here to resolve in a bid to build support for continuing inspections.
The two chief U.N. inspectors, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, failed to come away with the top three items on their wish list during meetings with high-level Iraqi officials on Saturday and today: significant amounts of new evidence about Iraq's past weapons programs, safety guarantees from Iraq for reconnaissance aircraft they want to fly over the country; and a high-level declaration criminalizing the production of nuclear, chemical or biological arms.
Blix sought to cast the talks in the most positive light possible by saying he saw the beginning of an Iraqi understanding that it must seriously observe U.N. demands for disarmament, but he acknowledged at a news conference this evening that he had not achieved a "breakthrough." Iraqi concessions on substantive issues, he said, were "less good" than he was expecting.
The results of the meetings could have a far-reaching impact on the diplomatic brawl at the United Nations over U.S. demands that the inspections cease and that military force to topple Hussein be approved by the Security Council. U.N. officials said the discussions will play a significant role in shaping a crucial progress report Blix plans to give the council on Friday, and lack of agreement likely will be seized upon by the Bush administration to reinforce its case that the inspections are not working.
In remarks delivered to congressional Republicans before Blix spoke today, President Bush said Hussein "wants the world to think that hide-and-seek is a game that we should play."
"It's over," Bush said. "It's a moment of truth for the United Nations. The United Nations gets to decide shortly whether or not it is going to be relevant in terms of keeping the peace, whether or not its words mean anything."
cont. at
washingtonpost.com |
