UN Inspectors Return to Iraq After Four-Year Absence

Baghdad, Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- United Nations weapons inspectors returned to Iraq after a four-year break saying they will carry out a thorough search under a Security Council mandate demanding unrestricted access to Iraqi sites.
Hans Blix, the chief UN inspector, and Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, flew into the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to prepare for inspections scheduled to begin Nov. 27.

``The situation at the moment is tense, but we are coming with an opportunity, and we hope we can all take the opportunity together,\'\' Blix told Cable News Network on arrival.

The inspections will be ``thorough, independent and objective,\'\' ElBaradei said yesterday.

UN inspectors left Iraq in December 1998 saying President Saddam Hussein\'s regime was obstructing their work. The Security Council approved a resolution 10 days ago outlining new conditions for inspections and threatening ``serious consequences\'\' if Iraq doesn\'t comply.

The resolution gave Iraq until Dec. 8 to prepare a comprehensive list of its chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs.

``I do believe there is a real hope but the ball is now in Saddam Hussein\'s court,\'\' U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp.\'s Radio 4 Today program. ``We would take any serious, significant, material breach very seriously indeed.\'\'

Iraqi Talks
ElBaradei said he and Blix will hold talks with Iraqi officials after they arrive in Baghdad to prepare for the inspections. ElBaradei didn\'t give details.

Inspectors may need as much as a year to complete their work, ElBaradei said on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.

``It will take at least six months to one year before we finish our work on Iraq,\'\' he said. ``I therefore ask the international community to be patient and wait until we finish our work comprehensively.\'\'

Iraq will cooperate fully with the inspectors because the country has nothing to hide, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said yesterday in an interview with the U.K.\'s Independent Television. The inspections will expose U.S. ``lies\'\' about the Iraqi weapons program, Aziz said.

Disagreements have arisen between the U.S. and UN inspectors over how to interpret the Security Council resolution vowing ``serious consequences\'\' if Iraq obstructs the inspectors or fails to divulge all relevant information on weapons of mass destruction.

`Self Defense\'
U.S. and U.K. planes fired back at Iraqi anti-artillery positions near Mosul, in northern Iraq, today, the U.S. European Command reported. The planes acted in ``self defense\'\' after coming under fire, the command said in an e-mailed statement. It was the third clash since Iraq accepted the return of inspectors last week.

U.S. officials last week said Iraqi anti-aircraft fire at U.S. and U.K. jets patrolling the ``no-fly\'\' zone in southern Iraq constituted a ``material breach\'\' of the resolution. Coalition aircraft dropped leaflets over southern Iraq yesterday telling the Iraqi military not to fire at warplanes, the U.S. Central Command said.

The UN resolution doesn\'t mention the no-fly zones, imposed by the U.S. and the U.K. after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Blix wants inspections to run their course before citing Iraqi violations. The Security Council will decide what steps to take after the inspectors report on Iraq\'s level of cooperation, Blix said.

``The warmongers in Washington and London will use any pretext\'\' to say there has been a ``material breach,\'\' Aziz told ITV news. ``Others are not going to support such a description of any small event.\'\'

Do you think they will find any weapons in Iraq? If so how do you think the US or UN will react?

I think they will find weapons stashed away at some private residence of Saddam (maybe a hidden nuke in Saddams golden toilet?).

I think that the inspectors will find a factory filled with “bean Cans”, and the Iraqi authorities will try to convince the UN inspectors that its completely innocent .

But then again when has a can of beans had the instructions

Pull pin and throw in general direction of enemy in Arabic before ?



UN inspectors = waste O Time

Why

We should know whats he’s Got

We sold him the God Damn Stuff !

US and the UK arethe worlds bully boys

like the late great Bill hicks said

America is like a Bad guy in a western film, who "gives" someone a gun so that he can have a showdown with.

America "pick up the Gun......"

3rd world state "no Sir i just came into town to buy some supplys"

America "PICK UP THE GUN."

3rd world state "like i said Sir i don\'t want any trouble i just want to go home"

America "PICK UP THE GUN !!!!."

3rd world state {gives in and picks up the gun}

BANG BANG !

America "HE Had a Gun you All Saw it !!!!."

Hhehe... Thats true! .. well almost

Originally posted by fastson
Hhehe... Thats true! .. well almost

oh i forgot

Sales to Iraq

USA
UK
Russia

Why send in inspectors ?

just check the Imoprt / export books Guys and admit what you have SOLD him !

I thought they were mainly checking for what he may have developed, since they know most of what he had bought.

Originally posted by luckee
I thought they were mainly checking for what he may have developed, since they know most of what he had bought.

oh yeah they can do that too

i mean they can check what chemicals and materials when been  shipped to iraq

plus they can keep tabs on experts that have "moved" to Iraq to work.

l

Originally posted by ooseven




just check the Imoprt / export books Guys and admit what you have SOLD him !

smuggling ya poop face

ooseven- you think they publish the record books of the black market?

Double-O actually thinks he really is a spy.  Don\'t ruin it for him.

Hahah Emperor!!!! yeah ooseven, they don\'t just list that stuff.  Why do you think the US is so paranoid about missing Russian nuclear material?