Iraq:  Blix Declines Baghdad Invitation

Chief U.N. weapons inspector for Iraq Hans Blix yesterday declined an invitation to meet with Iraqi officials in Baghdad — the first such offer since U.N. inspectors left Iraq in 1998 (see GSN, Aug. 2).

Blix, executive chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, would only consider the trip if Iraq allows inspectors to return “in accordance with the U.N. resolutions,” he told the London Al-Hayat newspaper.  Iraq does not seem likely to agree to those terms any time soon, he added.

“Inspection remains a long way off,” Blix said.

Iraq has demanded that the United Nations resolve four issues before it would allow inspectors to return, Blix said:  the removal of sanctions, the two no-fly zones, the threat of a U.S. attack on Iraq and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction throughout the entire Middle East.

In addition, Iraqi officials have been unwilling to discuss practical issues — such as where inspectors would stay in Iraq, how they would use helicopters and whether they could establish regional offices outside Baghdad — until their political questions are satisfied, Blix said.

“They do not talk much about the practical arrangements,” he said.

Unless Iraq is prepared to discuss practical arrangements and agree to readmit inspectors in accordance with U.N. resolutions, it might be damaging for Blix to visit Baghdad, he said.

“It would be better if a person of my political level did not go to Baghdad before the Iraqis announced their acceptance of the inspection principle,” Blix said.  “The situation will be far more serious if I go to Baghdad and then the talks fail.”

“We are interested in the substantive issue and not in another tour during which the Iraqis would ask us about what we consider to be outstanding issues,” he said.  If Iraq agrees to accept inspections, then “I would say that’s great; let us sit and talk about the practical arrangements under which we would set about our work,” he said.

U.S. Influence

In response to concerns that U.S. hawks might be controlling U.N. leaders and UNMOVIC, Blix acknowledged that “there are in Washington people who do not want the inspections to resume, and there are others such as the U.S. administration’s official spokesman who want that to happen.”

“But they have no influence on our talks” with Iraq, he said (Raghida Dirgham, London Al-Hayat/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Aug. 4).

Regime-Change Policy

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush said Saturday that the United States still intends to see the overthrow of Iraq President Saddam Hussein.  “Nothing’s changed,” Bush said (see GSN, July 31).

“I’m a patient man.  I’ll use all of the tools at our disposal” to deal with the Iraqi threat, Bush said.

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton told the British Broadcasting Corp. Saturday that the United States supports returning U.N. inspectors to Iraq, but he added that the policy of regime change “will not be altered whether the inspectors go in or not.”

Iraqi Response

State-run Iraqi media criticized the United States yesterday for its response to Iraq’s invitation and continuing regime-change policy.

“It was anticipated that the (George W.) Bush administration and his lackey (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair would adopt this position since they constantly seek to doubt Iraq's stance and the usefulness of dialogue with the United Nations,” wrote Ath-Thawra, mouthpiece of the ruling Baath party, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse/Sydney Morning Herald, Aug. 5).

Biden Weighs In

In Washington, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) said yesterday that “there probably will be a war with Iraq.”

“The only question is, is it alone, is it with others and how long and how costly will it be?” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

The chances that Hussein would surrender his suspected weapons of mass destruction are very low, and “we have no choice but to eliminate that threat,” Biden said.  “I think Saddam either has to be separated from his weapons or taken out of power.”

The issue is how to do to that and how to build support at home and abroad for the effort required, he said.

“We’re talking about the United States preemptively moving upon a country with tens of thousands of (troops),” Biden said.  “The American people must be brought along.  The world must understand why we must do it.  And ultimately, that is going to be a responsibility that rests with the president, to be able to make that case,” he added (NBC Meet the Press, Aug. 4).

For further information, see:

UNMOVIC

U.N. Resolution 687 (Sanctions Regime)

U.N. Resolution 1409 (“Smart Sanctions”)

U.S. State Department Fact Sheet on Iraqi Sanctions Revisions

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