Bryan Bender
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The international official responsible for dismantling Iraq’s suspected nuclear weapons program said yesterday that he would look for a “pattern” of obstruction before reporting Baghdad’s noncompliance with the new inspections regime.

“If there is a pattern of lack of cooperation, then we have to report to the Security Council and the Security Council will decide if that is a material breach,” Mohammed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a speech to a nonproliferation conference sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  If, however, “there is minor omission and this is clearly not intentional, we are not running to the Security Council to say that it’s a material breach.”

His comments — just four days before he is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad in advance of the inspection teams along with Hans Blix, chief of the U.N. team responsible for locating and destroying chemical and biological weapons — mark the first clear indication of what will be considered a breach of Iraq’s pledge to cooperate fully.

ElBaradei’s views appear, however, to be at odds with the Bush administration.  The White House has said that any indication of Iraqi intransigence will be considered a breach of its obligations.

U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that a policy of “zero tolerance” would be followed regarding Iraqi noncompliance.  “We will not tolerate any deception, denial or deceit, period,” Bush said before meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in Washington.

Bush has pledged to lead a coalition to forcibly disarm Iraq and overthrow its leader, Saddam Hussein, in the event that Baghdad does not comply with U.N. Resolution 1441, passed unanimously by the Security Council last week, warning of “serious consequences” if the regime once again fails to live up to its international agreements and does not provide irrefutable evidence that it is free of weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Nov. 8).

ElBaradei, meanwhile, outlined five “interrelated prerequisites” that he believes are necessary for the new round of inspections to work.  They include:

*         immediate and unfettered access to any location or site in Iraq, and full use of all the authority provided for in the U.N. resolution;

*         ready access to all sources of information — including timely intelligence information from U.N. members;

*         unified and unequivocal support from the U.N. Security Council, with the affirmed resolve to act promptly in the case of noncompliance;

*         active cooperation from Iraq, including demonstration of its stated willingness to be transparent and allow inspectors to fulfill their mission without conditions; and

*         the preservation of the integrity and impartiality of the inspections teams, free from outside influence.

In an apparent caution to the Bush administration, ElBaradei said, “Efforts by national governments to infiltrate the inspection process are ultimately counterproductive, because they lead to the destruction of the very fabric of the process, let alone credibility.”

The IAEA head also ruled out making any requested adjustments to the makeup of the agency’s inspection team.  The Arab League has proposed that Arab countries be better represented.  “Diversity is necessary,” ElBaradei said, but “the key is competence and impartiality.”

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