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Inspecting Iraq

Security Council vote expected soon on Iraq deal

Butler on CNN's "Late Edition"

March 2, 1998
Web posted at: 2:04 p.m. EST (1904 GMT)

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Monday night on a resolution warning Iraq that it must comply with the weapons inspection agreement reached last week by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the government of Iraq.

In earlier drafts of the resolution, a warning to Iraq mentioned "the severest consequences" if Iraq violated the agreement. In a later version, the warning was softened to "very severe consequences."

But, on Monday, another version was circulated which again referred to "severest consequences." This wording was expected to be in the draft that will be subjected to a vote.

A key sticking point appears to be that the United States wants the resolution to say that there will be an automatic right to military action should Iraq again violate the U.N. resolution.

Some other nations, including Russia, France and China, want a resolution to make clear that any dispute over weapons inspections must be brought before the Security Council for consideration before any nation resorted to force.

Some Security Council members have also indicated they want language in the resolution offering Iraq more hope that economic sanctions will be eased once Baghdad cooperates with U.N. weapons inspectors.

The British Ambassador, Sir John Weston, said he still hoped for a vote on the draft resolution by the end of Monday.

On Sunday, Iraq continued to promise full cooperation. Nizar Hamdoon, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that U.N. weapons inspectors will "absolutely" be able to conduct unannounced weapons inspections at eight presidential sites in Iraq.

Appearing on CNN's "Late Edition," Hamdoon said "This is what we promised, and I think we will be sticking to our word."

Richard Butler, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, said on the same program that provisions for the inspections of the presidential sites are now "virtually complete" and unambiguous.

Butler, who was seeking to ease concerns that diplomats accompanying inspectors might compromise their mission, said technical experts will still make up the core of the team.

Hamdoon on CNN's "Late Edition"

Butler said he will handle reporting on the inspections to Annan, who then reports to the U.N. Security Council.

Butler dismissed as untrue speculation that diplomats who will accompany inspectors to the presidential sites -- a provision of the agreement -- could delay the inspectors while the Iraqis remove weapons. 316 K / 13 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Spot checks possible

Butler said on ABC's "This Week" that inspectors attempting to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction have "the ability to turn up on no notice" at presidential sites.

Butler also insisted that his authority as the chief weapons inspector has not been weakened by the agreement reached last weekend by Annan and the Iraqi leadership in Baghdad.

A strategy of concealment

1991 Iraqi document ordering Iraqi scientists to hide the nuclear weapons program

CNN has found evidence suggesting that the highest Iraqi levels ordered a systematic coverup of the very weapons programs that the country was meant to declare to inspectors after the Gulf War.

According to a translated Iraqi document, the concealment of the military program was ordered on April 4, 1991 -- just one day after UNSCOM was created.

The document issued the following orders:

• To move all nuclear materials to a substitute site.
  
  
• To collect and move computer data.
  
  
• To create a cover story to justify the existence of the nuclear laboratories.
  
  

UNSCOM weapons inspectors have repeatedly accused the Iraqi leadership of sabotaging the disarmament process and of deliberately concealing information about the true extent of its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.

Iraq, on the other hand, maintains it has fully complied with UNSCOM and calls for international Gulf War sanctions to therefore be lifted.

Correspondent Brian Jenkins and Reuters contributed to this report.

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