U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will arrive in Baghdad Friday in an effort to resolve the standoff over weapons inspections, and an Arab diplomat said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein may be easing his stand on the issue.

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The case for diplomacy: Damage, destruction and doubts

An air campaign against Iraq could be nightmarish. It could cause the death and wounding of innocent civilians. It could trigger the unleashing of deadly biological and chemical agents.

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The evidence: What weapons does Iraq have?

Intelligence sources familiar with weapons inspections in Iraq admit it has been almost impossible to obtain hard evidence of hidden weapons -- an absence of proof that bolsters the case for using diplomacy to resolve the standoff with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
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Why Moscow throws itself in the middle

The role of diplomatic intermediary that Russia adopts in standoffs with Iraq over United Nations weapons inspections is the continuation of a Cold War relationship.
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