France circulates plan to beef up inspections to disarm Iraq

UNITED NATIONS -- France circulated a plan Tuesday to beef up U.N. weapons inspections to disarm Iraq, staking out its position against the United States, which is expected to push for U.N. authorization to go to war against Saddam Hussein.

A showdown in the Security Council is likely after top weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei present to council members Friday their latest assessment of Iraq's cooperation in providing evidence about its weapons programs.

Council diplomats said Britain, the United States' closest ally, might introduce a second resolution as early as Friday that would authorize military action against Iraq. But London and Washington may also decide to wait, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a policy paper distributed to council members, France said it intends to implement its proposals to strengthen inspections in close consultation with U.N. inspectors. It did not call for any kind of U.N. force to accompany inspectors -- so a new resolution would not be needed.

The French plan calls for an immediate doubling of the number of inspectors, and a quick tripling to make inspections more targeted and intrusive, thereby increasing their effectiveness. There are currently about 110 inspectors examining Iraq's chemical, biological and long-range missile programs, and nine nuclear inspectors.

"Our approach is based on the need to compel Iraq to cooperate by taking the peaceful approach of intrusive inspections," the paper said.

France said U.N. inspectors should draw up a complete list of unresolved disarmament issues in order of importance, and set a time frame to find the answers.

"It is important to push the Iraqis up against a wall and not leave them any way out regarding the questions which they must answer and on which really active cooperation is expected," the paper said. "Such an exercise would also be useful in evaluating the nature of the threat Iraq represents."

Russia, Germany and other council members support stepped-up inspections. But Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, dismissed the French proposal for more inspectors.

"If the Iraqis would cooperate with the Security Council's latest resolution, then that's exactly what we would have -- tougher inspections," he said.

Blix said the number of inspectors could be increased "but it still remains vital that you have ... good cooperation from the Iraqis on substance."

He urged two Iraqi commissions searching for banned weapons material and new documents to "produce results" before he reports to the Security Council on Friday.

"We are of the view that they need to work very fast, very prompt, to come forward and put matters on the table to be helpful," he told reporters after briefing Australian Prime Minister John Howard on his weekend trip to Baghdad.

In Baghdad over the weekend, the Iraqis gave the chief inspectors documents said to clarify lingering questions about 1980s chemical and biological weapons.

Blix said there were some "interesting" results that he would report to the council on Friday. Iraq also provided "some more focused explanations on central issues" like VX nerve agent and anthrax, and handed over "one original document," he said.

The Iraqis have accepted three types of surveillance flights -- by American U-2 aircraft, French Mirages, and Russian planes, Blix said.

But a U.S. official said the Iraqis have imposed unacceptable conditions on U-2 flights -- demanding the time and point of entry of all flights, their speed and the plane's call signal to ensure communication with the pilot when necessary.