Members of the U.S. delegation were greeted Sunday by Iraqi Foreign Ministry officials

August 29, 1999
Web posted at: 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The first U.S. congressional delegation to visit Iraq since the 1991 Persian Gulf War arrived in Baghdad on Sunday despite warnings that the delegation could face danger there.

The aides to five members of the U.S. Congress are on what they call a fact-finding mission to assess the results of U.N. sanctions on the Iraqi people and their impact on U.S. trade.

The State Department had warned the group not to come, saying Iraq was too dangerous for Americans. A spokeswoman for the group, Phyllis Bennis from the Institute for Policy Studies, said they nevertheless decided to make the trip when they were told by U.S. officials that the main danger to them would be from U.S. airstrikes in the no-fly zones.

The delegation was met by protocol officials from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. Bennis said they had no plans to meet Iraqi officials, but the ministry said a meeting was planned for Sunday evening at its offices.

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