Iraq Accepts Return of U.N. Weapons Inspectors

September 17, 2002

UNITED NATIONS — Iraq lobbed a diplomatic ball back into America's court Monday evening, agreeing to re-admit U.N. weapons inspectors without conditions -- but the White House dismissed the move as a divisive stalling tactic and said it would continue to push for a Security Council resolution. 

Other nations cautiously welcomed Baghdad's declaration, which was delivered via a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Russia and China, who along with the U.S., Britain and France hold veto power on the Security Council, said it was a victory for international diplomacy. 

"Now our main task is to ensure that the inspectors can get to Iraq as soon as possible and start their work," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said. 

Iraq's decision was well timed, as a previously scheduled Security Council meeting begins Tuesday. The council's main goal since the end of 1998 has been getting inspectors back inside Iraq in order to curb Saddam Hussein's chances of procuring weapons, but disagreements among the five permanent members have blocked progress. 

"If the inspectors come and act honestly, professionally ... they can reach the truth within a reasonable time," Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said in Baghdad. "But if the Americans are using this as a pretext, they might use some other way in order to commit an aggression against Iraq." 

Earlier, Aziz said Washington's sole goal was to dominate oil in the Persian Gulf region. 

Aziz called on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to monitor inspectors closely to ensure they do not overstep their mission. He said Iraq hoped the return of inspectors "will lead as soon as possible to the lifting of sanctions and normalizing the situation." 

Even before Annan announced the deal with Iraq on Monday, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters: "We have one goal, which is the fight against proliferation" of weapons of mass destruction. 

Washington quickly dismissed Iraq's offer as a tactic meant to split the Security Council, where the Bush administration has been lobbying hard for a resolution that would authorize force against Iraq if it failed to let the inspectors return. 

For the United States, disarmament in Iraq is contingent on removing Saddam, who invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990 and lobbed Scud missiles at Saudi Arabia and Israel months later during the Gulf War. 

"This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in Washington. 

France, another permanent member of the Security Council, said the world body should act quickly to test Iraq's motives. 

"This will, of course, be discussed in the coming days at the Security Council, but we must not lose time, act quickly, send in the inspectors," said Francois Rivasseau, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry. 

Britain, however, questioned Saddam's motives. 

"This apparent offer is bound to be treated with a high degree of skepticism by the international community," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said. 

Annan credited President Bush for helping to bring about Iraq's decision. 

"I believe the president's speech galvanized the international community," he said. 

Arab league chief Amr Moussa turned out to be pivotal in the negotiations with Iraq, using the backing of Arab states to push through a deal meant to avert U.S. military action in Iraq. 

While the United States and its allies have long agreed that something needed to be done about Iraq, they were bitterly divided over what to do. Now the contrasting goals and approaches will likely make it much harder for the United States to get the resolution it wants. 

U.N. weapons inspectors were put in place after the Gulf War under resolutions which tied Iraq's disarmament to the lifting of punishing U.N. sanctions. 

But the inspectors left Baghdad in December 1998 ahead of U.S. airstrikes, amid Iraqi allegations that some inspectors were spying for the United States and countercharges that Iraq wasn't cooperating with the teams. 

Since then, Baghdad had said it would let inspectors back in only for a limited time and if the Security Council lifted the sanctions. It also tried at various times to control the makeup of the inspection teams. 

But with pressure mounting four days after Bush told the U.N. General Assembly that the United States was no longer willing to tolerate Iraqi violations, the oil-rich nation changed direction. 

"I am pleased to inform you of the decision of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to allow the return of the United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq without conditions," said a letter signed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri and delivered to Annan late Monday. 

Secretary of State Colin Powell spent Monday lobbying support for a resolution that would mandate the return of inspectors and permit the use of force should Iraq refuse. 

Powell said the other Security Council members were moving toward the U.S. position on Iraq. But none were prepared to use force, and they made those views clear to Annan who worked tirelessly over the weekend and through Monday on the looming crisis. 

According to U.N. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, drafts of the Iraqi compliance letter went back-and-forth between Baghdad and Annan's office on the 38th floor of U.N. headquarters. 

Right up until the end of business Monday, officials said Sabri, the Iraqi foreign minister, was on the phone at U.N. headquarters going over the final text with his superiors in Baghdad. Shortly after delivering the letter to Annan, Sabri said, "There is good news." 

Annan forwarded the letter to the Security Council and to the New York-based chief biological and chemical weapons inspector, Hans Blix. 

It was not clear when the council would discuss the letter, a necessary first step before sending inspectors back. Blix has said he could have inspectors on the ground within days, but it would take his teams several weeks before they could begin monitoring Iraqi sites. 

Blix welcomed the Iraqi offer and said he was ready for immediate talks with the Iraqis "on the practical arrangements for the resumption of inspections." 

The Vienna-based organization that runs the inspections for nuclear weapons in Iraq said it could resume its work at once 

"We could start work tomorrow. We have a plan in place, but we need a green light from the Security Council," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

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