U.N. inspection talks may test Saddam's cooperation pledge

VIENNA, Austria -- U.N. weapons inspectors demanded the right to roam freely around Saddam Hussein's palaces and other suspect sites when they opened talks with the Iraqis Monday on the logistics of a possible return to Baghdad.

Chief inspector Hans Blix, leading the closed-door meetings with an Iraqi delegation, said the inspectors were operating under the assumption they would be able to go anywhere, anytime if they return to Iraq for a fresh assessment of the country's nuclear, biological and chemical programs.

The dispute came to a head after the Bush administration repeatedly accused Iraq of blatantly violating U.N. resolutions requiring Baghdad to disarm. Washington threatened to unilaterally remove Saddam from power because more than a decade of international pressure had failed to win Iraqi compliance.

When President Bush made an impassioned plea for tougher U.N. action at the General Assembly last month, Saddam switched course and pledged unconditional access to sites across Iraq. But in recent days Baghdad has rejected any new U.N. resolutions to broaden and toughen the inspection regime. Iraqi resistance has thrown into question whether the eight sprawling presidential palaces -- up until now off-limits to surprise visits -- would be open to renewed inspections.

No limitations

"We're telling the Iraqis we don't want any limitations on our access," a senior diplomat close to the talks said on condition of anonymity.

The issue of palace inspections and some other contentious matters would require amending the most recent U.N.-Iraq agreement on inspections. While the Vienna meetings have addressed those topics, a decision on changing the sanctions regime would have to be made by the U.N. Security Council once Blix reports back on Thursday.

Under a deal U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan cut with Baghdad in early 1998, the inspectors' access to eight so-called presidential sites encompassing a total of 12 square miles was restricted. The deal prevented inspectors from carrying out surprise visits to the sites, which include Saddam's palaces. The deal also created a team of international diplomats to accompany inspectors when they did enter.

The United States and the rest of the Security Council endorsed that plan, which remains in effect. However, the Bush administration is pushing for a resolution that would nullify the Annan deal.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, whose government denies it has weapons of mass destruction, has rejected any changes in the inspections regime.

"Our position on the inspectors has been decided and any additional procedure is meant to hurt Iraq and is unacceptable," Ramadan said Saturday.

Issues to be decided in the current talks focus on ensuring that Iraq will provide access to other so-called "sensitive sites."

"We are aiming to restore as much as possible the concept of 'any time, any place,'" said Mohamed El-Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, where the nuclear inspectors are based and the talks are being held.

El-Baradei said the first day of talks took place in a "businesslike atmosphere" in which the Iraqis "have been positive and coming with a desire to reach an agreement."

"The mood is good," he said. "We're making progress, but we still have a good deal of work to do."

Blix said the Iraqis and the U.N. experts were nailing down logistics such as where the teams will be based, their accommodations and security, and how samples would be taken out of the country for analysis. The talks end Tuesday.

"The purpose of the talks is that if and when inspections come about, we will not have clashes inside" over what the inspectors will do, Blix said. "We'd rather go through these things outside in advance."

Access to suspect sites will be crucial in any comprehensive assessment of Saddam's arsenal, said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

"We have a lot of information. We have a lot of indicators. We have satellite photographs. But we don't have a presence on the ground," Fleming said.

Nearly four years ago, inspectors hunting for evidence of weapons of mass destruction withdrew from Iraq on the eve of U.S.-British airstrikes amid allegations that Baghdad was not cooperating with the teams.

White House skepticism

The Bush administration, seeking to build support for an invasion of Iraq, has cast doubt on the inspectors' main requirement -- that they be given freedom to examine whatever they wish, including Saddam's palaces.

That skepticism was restated Monday when White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said the Vienna talks were focused on the existing Security Council resolutions, "which the world knows have not been honored."

The Iraqis were supposed to bring to Vienna a backlog of reports listing items they possess which could have military purposes, including the locations and current uses for those items. El-Baradei said the Iraqis promised to turn over the records Tuesday.

Though the Security Council still must give final approval to the mission, the inspectors are gearing up for a mid-October deployment, Fleming said. Both inspection teams have been preparing to leave from Vienna on Oct. 15, but the date could change, she said.