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Politics : Pres. George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PatiBob who wrote (232)	9/18/2002 12:02:29 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 601

Posted on Tue, Sep. 17, 2002 Iraq agrees to return of U.N. inspection team By Ron Hutcheson Mercury News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Iraq told the United Nations on Monday that it would accept the unconditional return of international weapons inspectors, but U.S. officials dismissed the offer as a ploy designed to derail a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would force him to abandon illicit weapons programs or face U.S.-led military action. Iraq made the offer in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Secretary of State Colin Powell lobbied the world body to launch a new effort to force Iraq's disarmament. Annan told reporters that Iraq agreed to ``allow the return of inspectors without conditions.'' U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq ended in 1998. Annan said Baghdad had agreed to ``immediate discussions'' to work out the logistics for the inspections teams to start work in Iraq. It was not clear when the inspectors could actually return. The White House called Iraq's offer a ``tactical step'' that will fail. ``This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions,'' a White House statement said. ``It is time for the Security Council to act.'' Administration officials said the United States was still determined to seek a strong U.N. resolution demanding Iraqi compliance with past U.N. resolutions and threatening to act if Baghdad failed to do so. Annan announced Baghdad's decision after receiving a letter Monday afternoon from Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri and credited Bush and pressure from Arab leaders for Iraq's change of decision. ``I believe the president's speech galvanized the international community,'' Annan said, referring to Bush's speech Thursday at the United Nations. Although the Iraqi move appears to be an attempt to relieve mounting international pressure on Baghdad, it could succeed at least in delaying U.N. action. Among the five permanent members of the Security Council, all of whom can veto Security Council actions, China, France and Russia are eager to avoid a military confrontation between the United States and Iraq. A former U.N. weapons inspector also reacted skeptically to Iraq's offer. After a series of disputes with Iraqi officials, in 1998 the United Nations withdrew its inspectors in advance of U.S. and British airstrikes against Iraq. ``This is classic Saddam behavior. It's a real trap for the United States,'' said David Kay, who in 1991 led the United Nation's efforts to find evidence of nuclear weapons. ``I've been saying for three weeks that he would do something like this.'' But Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said Iraq's offer indicates that Saddam Hussein is feeling international pressure to change his ways. ``This is a reason for some hope, but this is just the beginning of a process, not the end,'' Kimball said. ``We should be skeptical.'' Diplomats said Iraq's gesture to receive the weapons inspectors could slow the pace of events more than Washington had intended. Once they are on the ground, the inspectors will be governed by a specific timetable set out in council resolution 1284, which reorganized the inspections program in 1999. Under the terms of that resolution, the inspectors, once on the ground, would have to report back to the Security Council within 60 days to lay out a work plan, identifying lines of investigation they want to pursue. The resolution then gives them four months to reach preliminary conclusions about whether Iraq is developing prohibited weapons. Administration officials have said they would like to get authorization from the United Nations and from Congress to launch a military operation before the end of the year, absent proof that Iraq is not developing weapons of mass destruction. Iraq agreed under the terms that ended the Persian Gulf War in 1991 that it would destroy any such weapons and submit to international inspections to ensure compliance. Meanwhile, U.S. and British warplanes enforcing the 11-year-old no-fly zones over Iraq have become more aggressive. The allied pilots are knocking out Iraqi air-defense communication sites, command centers and fiber-optic links instead of merely trying to take out the radar tracking them or the missile launchers firing at them, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace said in a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The more-aggressive actions are consistent with tactics that would be necessary in any opening phase of an invasion of Iraq -- suppression of Iraq's air defenses. Rumsfeld said he ordered the more-aggressive fire-back policy more than a month ago to enhance the safety of allied pilots. However, he repeated that Bush has not yet decided whether to go to war with Iraq. Powell reported progress in his effort to enlist support from the United Nations. Making the rounds at U.N. headquarters in New York, Powell predicted that the Security Council would approve a new resolution ``in the not-too-distant future'' demanding compliance from Iraq. The details of the resolution are under negotiation, but the United States wants the world body to authorize military action if Iraq fails to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction by a specific deadline. ``I'm encouraged by what I've heard so far from the Security Council representatives that I've spoken to,'' Powell said at the United Nations. ``We're just now starting to look at language.'' While Powell looked for international support, Bush underscored his determination to act alone if necessary. During a political trip to Davenport, Iowa, Bush said the United States ``will move deliberately, yet decisively, to hold Iraq to account'' if the United Nations fails to enforce its resolutions calling for Iraq's disarmament. bayarea.com Mercury News wire services contributed to this report.