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Inspecting Iraq

U.N. inspectors overcome 'difficulties' at Iraqi site

United Nations inspectors leaving their headquarters in Baghdad

In this story:

• 'A new spirit of cooperation'
• A question of boundaries
• Inspectors saw what they wanted to see

March 27, 1998
Web posted at: 8:46 p.m. EST (0146 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.N. weapons inspectors searching one of Saddam Hussein's presidential compounds ran into "difficulties" Friday, but satisfactorily completed their visit after ironing out the problem.

Jayantha Dhanapala, the leader of the diplomatic team that accompanied the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) inspectors, said the visit accomplished what it set out to do.

"The purpose for which UNSCOM wanted to go in, as far as the initial visit was concerned, was achieved," Dhanapala told reporters. "They were able to gather the baseline data that they needed and they were able to fulfill their functions. We have completed visiting the Radwaniyah presidential site."

UNSCOM inspectors responsible for destroying Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have been prevented from visiting eight presidential sites by Iraqi officials in the past, precipitating a crisis and threats of a military strike in February.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited Baghdad and worked out an agreement with the Iraqis by which inspectors would be allowed into the sites if they were accompanied by diplomats.

UNSCOM Chairman Richard Butler returned to New York from a trip to Baghdad Friday praising "a new spirit of cooperation" and said that "everything seems to be in good shape."

A question of boundaries

UNSCOM inspector Charles Duelfer said that during the inspection Friday there were some "difficulties," but refused to say what they were. U.N. officials in New York said the issue was a corner that Iraqi officials insisted was not part of the sprawling Radwaniyah compound.

"We had to correct some questions on the boundaries of these presidential sites," Duelfer said. "It wasn't a problem, but simply something that had to be done, and that took some time."

Radwaniyah covers seventeen square kilometres -- more than half the total area of all the other seven presidential sites combined

"If there were any problems they were resolved successfully," Dhanapala said without elaborating. "Many of them were ironed out very successfully.

The inspectors left U.N. headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad early Friday in a convoy of about 25 U.N. vehicles heading for Radwaniyah. They returned around 11 hours later.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz was present during Friday's visit, Dhanapala said. Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rasheed was there both days.

The Radwaniyah site is a huge, 6.8 square mile (17 square kilometers) complex near Saddam International Airport that includes a dozen villas, five man-made lakes and nearly 300 buildings.

UNSCOM inspectors officials have said they believe Iraq has concealed material related to chemical, biological and ballistic weapons, possibly at the presidential sites. Iraq claims it has destroyed or dismantled the weapons as required by U.N. resolutions.

Inspectors saw what they wanted to see

Sanctions imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait cannot be lifted until UNSCOM certifies that Iraq has disposed of such weapons.

Twenty diplomats are in Baghdad to accompany the inspectors on their visits to the presidential sites. These first "baseline" visits, which are expected to be completed around April 5, aim to inspect and survey the eight presidential sites in detail for possible future inspections.

"Teams saw everything they wanted to see," said Horst Holthoff, a retired German diplomat. "I am personally impressed by the spirit of cooperation on the Iraqi side."

Duelfer said the work was "long and hard but, I think, productive in essence."

Duelfer said it would take 10 days to two weeks to survey the eight compounds, which are spread out over 12 1/2 square miles (32 1/2 square kilometers) and include 1,058 buildings. The sites are scattered from the Gulf port of Basra in southern Iraq to Mosul, 600 miles to the north.

U.N. officials have few expectations of finding any incriminating material on their first visits. But they say the initial inspections are important to gather information, to cement the principle of unfettered access and set a benchmark precedent for future inspections.

Diplomats said the inspectors would conduct detailed internal and external surveys of the sites while a helicopter surveyed them from the air.

Correspondent Ben Wedeman and Reuters contributed to this report

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