[Nasional-e] Go ahead and test Baghdad

[Ambon]

 Go ahead and test Baghdad

 The New York Times The New York Times Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Efforts to resolve the dispute over Iraq are proceeding on parallel tracks
that appear contradictory but could be complementary. United Nations
officials are meeting with Iraqis in Vienna this week to plan for the return
of weapons investigators under existing UN resolutions. Meanwhile,
Washington is calling for a tough new resolution with deadlines and
enforcement provisions. Washington can only gain by demonstrating its
willingness to exhaust peaceful approaches before advocating war. The
existing inspection system is flawed, as years of successful Iraqi defiance
have demonstrated, but the Bush administration should use it to explore
Iraq's real intentions. If Saddam Hussein means to allow the inspectors to
have immediate and unfettered access to all suspect sites, well and good. If
he does not, Washington can make a much stronger case to other members of
the Security Council that many of the elements of its proposed resolution
are necessary. Whether the Vienna talks lead to rigorous new inspections is
up to Iraq. If the inspectors go back in, we will learn soon enough what
barriers are placed in their way.
.
During the seven years that arms inspectors worked in Iraq under existing
resolutions, they destroyed large quantities of illegal weapons, despite
Baghdad's deceptions and concealments. The problem is that Iraq has never
fully complied with the resolutions, which contain no meaningful deadlines
or enforcement provisions beyond the continuation of increasingly porous
economic sanctions. Also, in 1998 the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan,
agreed to allow Saddam to set ground rules for eight "presidential sites,"
which precluded surprise inspections at these locations. This arrangement,
which never worked, should quickly be overridden by the Security Council. As
this process unfolds, Washington and London should continue circulating a
draft resolution that may be needed if Iraq balks at inspections. The new
resolution would give Iraq seven days after its passage to agree to its
terms and 23 more days to turn over a complete list of illegal weapons
activities. Member states would be authorized to use military force to
assure compliance.
.
China, Russia and France do not yet seem sold on the new resolution. France
prefers a two-stage approach, with a first resolution spelling out
inspection requirements and military enforcement to be considered later. If
a new resolution is needed, we favor one with a deadline and a clear warning
that military force is likely to follow if Baghdad fails to comply. But only
if and when full-scale inspections fail should the Security Council give
final consent to the use of force.
.
That is why the Vienna negotiations over the conditions for a return of
weapons inspectors are valuable. They hold out an alternative path for
either a return of inspectors or a clearer demonstration of the need for a
resolution that explicitly threatens military intervention.