Iraq Invites U.N. Weapons Inspectors to Baghdad
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Blix is invited to meet with the Iraqi government "at the earliest agreed time" |
WASHINGTON,
August 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iraq has invited chief
U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix to Baghdad to discuss the possible
resumption of weapons inspections in Iraq since they were suspended in
1998, leading U.S. dailies said Friday, August 2.
The
invitation was made in a letter Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri sent
Thursday, August 1, to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, saying his
government was willing to meet with Blix "at the earliest agreed
time," said The New York Times.
The
purpose was to "establish a solid basis for the next stage of
monitoring and inspection activities and to move forward to that
stage," said The Washington Post.
He
said Iraq hopes the review of the outstanding issues will lead to
agreement on "practical arrangements to resume cooperation"
between Iraq and the U.N. inspection agency, news agencies reported.
The
Iraqi move comes amid growing indications that the United States is
seriously considering a fresh strike on 12-year-sanctions-hit Iraq,
with the declared aim of toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, whom
Washington accuses of covertly developing weapons of mass destruction,
news agencies reported.
The
invitation also followed an interview Jordan's King Abdullah gave the New
York Times, in which he sought to dissuade Washington from its war
footing and offered to make an all out effort to get Iraq to agree to
new weapons inspections.
The
letter was also sent more than a week after Annan told the U.N.
Security Council that Blix would not continue negotiating with Iraq on
a new weapons inspection regime until Baghdad proved it was serious
about allowing them to resume.
A
U.S. diplomat at the United Nations expressed doubts to The Washington
Post about Iraq's sincerity.
"The
United States is always skeptical about Iraqi claims to comply with
Security Council resolutions," said Richard Grenell, the
spokesman at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. "But we
would welcome any movement."
At
an earlier meeting in March 2002, Sabri gave Annan a list of 19
questions Iraq wanted answered – some technical and some political.
Blix addressed the technical questions at the second meeting in May
and Annan sent the political questions to the Security Council, news
agencies reported.
These
questions focused on lifting sanctions, U.S. threats against Iraq, the
"no-fly" zones in northern and southern Iraq enforced by
American and British aircraft and the creation of a nuclear
weapons-free zone in the Middle East.
The
Security Council chose not to respond to these questions, which meant
Annan went to Vienna with no political answers for the Iraqis.
Dismissing E.U., Russian and Arab objections to a fresh U.S. strike
against Iraq, U.S. President Georges W. Bush insisted that attacking
Iraq is a must and that it is only a matter of time before it takes
place.
While
Bush aimed his war of words Thursday at Saddam Hussein, he was himself
the target of warnings from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II and
experts urging caution in any military moves on Iraq.
"In
all the years I have seen in the international community, everybody is
saying this is a bad idea," Abdullah said in an interview
published in the Post Thursday, before his meeting with Bush.
Bush,
before entering his closed-door meeting with Abdullah, called himself
a "patient man," but said his government's policy of
advocating a regime change in Iraq has not changed "since the
last time [the king] was in the Oval Office."
Abdullah
told the Post that he thought an invasion would be futile.
"If
it seems America says we want to hit Baghdad, that's not what
Jordanians think, or the British, the French, the Russians, the
Chinese and everybody else," Abdullah said.
Abdullah
called reports that U.S. military planners envisioned using Jordan as
a staging area for U.S. troops fighting in Iraq "somewhat
amusing."
Instead
of declaring war, Abdullah said he would rather make an all-out effort
to get Iraq to agree to new weapons inspectors.
"If
we were to get a proper inspection regime, that would give us some
room to maneuver," he said.
Sixteen
blocks from the White House, former U.S. officials questioned Bush's
envisioned ouster of the Iraqi leader in testimony before Congress.
President
Ronald Reagan's defense secretary Casper Weinberger and president Bill
Clinton's national security advisor Sandy Berger agreed that Hussein
had to go, but differed on how and when, Agence France Presse (AFP)
reported.
Weinberger
also turned away opinions that the U.S. would need massive troop force
to overthrow Hussein.
"We
don't need a [soldier] on every street corner for the foreseeable
future," he said, adding, "frankly… even chaos would be
better than Saddam."
Berger
agreed Hussein was a threat to regional stability and potentially a
threat to the United States, but took a more cautious tack.
"Our
strategy should bring greater stability to the region not less,"
he said.
"It
should not come at the expense of the support we need in the fight
against Al-Qaeda or the stability of friends in the region."
Bush,
meanwhile, renewed the U.S. economic embargo against Iraq for another
year, claiming that Baghdad "has continued to engage in
activities hostile to U.S. interests."
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