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Posted on 10/02/2002 8:14:24 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Despite U.S. warnings, NewsMax has learned that the UN has decided to send its first group of inspectors into Baghdad on October 19, so says a senior official at UN headquarters. The group will convene at the UN staging base in Bahrain on October 17 where they will consult with chief arms inspector Hans Blix before moving on to Iraq.
The decision by Blix will be announced before a closed meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday.
In Vienna on Tuesday, Blix announced that he had reached an agreement with Iraq that would clear the path for arms inspections to resume for the first time since December 1998.
It was in December 1998, that UN arms chief Richard Butler decided to pull weapons inspectors out of Iraq in advance of Operation Desert Fox.
Blix's decision to proceed with the resumption of arms inspections comes despite warnings from secretary of state Colin Powell that the terms under which inspections would proceed were not acceptable to the U.S.
Powell added that the U.S. was so concerned about the conditions, that the U.S. "might seek to block" the UN from resuming operations until the Security Council could adopt a new resolution with tougher terms.
Short of a vote in the Security Council, it was not clear how the U.S. could block such a move.
The decision by Blix to proceed with a firm arrival date seems to put him on a collision course with Washington.
This comes as the White House runs into continuing difficulties both on Capitol Hill and in the UN for resolutions that would authorize military force if Iraq blocks any new arms inspections.
The State Dept. which had been pushing for a simple, strong resolution in the Security Council which would include an automatic trigger mechanism for military action, is now "rethinking" its position, according to diplomatic sources.
Washington it is said, is now huddling with French diplomats who favor a "two-step" approach.
The first would be a warning to Baghdad.
The second, would authorize "all necessary means" to enforce the warning if Baghdad obstructs inspections.
The French approach is favored by Russia and China, who together with Britain, comprise the veto-wielding members of the Security Council.
Exactly when the council may move is open to question.
U.S. diplomats are hoping for UN action before the November mid-term elections.
Will Baghdad Bonior offer comfort to the men who killed this young serviceman, or maybe spit in the eye of the young man's mother? How about calling his Commander and Chief a liar? Come on creepy democrats, step up to the plate.
I favor a four-step approach:
1) completely destroy whatever is left of the Iraqi military.
2) find and destroy all their WMD (which could take quite a while).
3) Annex all their oil fields.
4) Build a giant U.S. military base right on Iraqi soil, and restation our soldiers currently stationed in Europe to do so.
-1) Leave UN
0) Evict UN from NYC
Fine, the shooting should be over by then.
It's apparent that this needs to be President G.W. Bush's foreign policy legacy: reestablishing US sovereignty over whatever the UN proposes to do.
Seems like a logical conclusion to me. This it tantamount to a slap in the face from the UN and we should plainly and concisely let them know that we will not be held responsible for the safety of the inspectors.
Uh, taking out the landing strip?
"Oops! They didn't get out of the way, sorry..."
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