IRAQ-UN: Annan Admits Deadlock Over Weapons Monitors

By Farhan Haq Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 10 1997 (IPS) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan conceded Monday that diplomatic efforts to end a standoff between U.N. weapons monitors and Iraq have failed so far – even as Iraq’s deputy prime minister arrived here to argue Baghdad’s case.

“I regret that the government of Iraq has not yet seen its way to ending this unfortunate situation by complying with the requirements of the (U.N. Security) Council,” Annan said, following the return of three envoys dispatched to Baghdad last week.

Annan noted the ball now is in the Security Council’s court to decide how to prod Baghdad to withdraw its threat of expulsion against all U.S. nationals working for the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM), which monitor’s Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

For the time being, Iraq is not expelling any of the six U.S. members of UNSCOM who are currently based in the country. But the government has threatened to put its expulsion order into force if Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is unsuccessful in getting the Council to hear Baghdad’s grievances over the weapons monitors.

“The Special Commission, from 1991 until now, has been extremely unbalanced,” Aziz argued after meeting with Annan Monday. “The Americans dominate this mission…We are in a situation where the adversary is the judge.” Instead of its current composition, Aziz argued, UNSCOM should have more members from countries like Russia and France — a move which UNSCOM officials have dismissed as unnecessary and illegitimate.

Aziz complained that, according to Iraqi estimates, 44 percent of all UNSCOM officers were U.S. nationals last year, and the United States has accounted for 32 percent of all UNSCOM workers so far this year. Among them, the deputy prime minister added, are inspectors like Col. Scott Ritter, whom Aziz blamed for provoking a standoff over weapons inspections this summer. “Those who created the crisis which provoked the Council to (consider) further actions against Iraq are Americans,” Aziz claimed.

The United Nations disputes the charges. Only six of the roughly 100 UNSCOM inspectors and support staff in Baghdad now are from the United States, said U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard. Charles Duelfer, the deputy chairman of UNSCOM – and himself a U.S. national – added that, of the hundreds of technical experts who perform short-term contract work for the weapons monitors yearly, no more than 20 percent are from the United States.

Similarly, the two sides disagree over whether the United States should be permitted to continue overflights of its U-2 spy plane, which is used by UNSCOM to verify that no suspicious activity is occurring at suspected Iraqi military sites. Aziz argued, “I cannot trust that UNSCOM is in full control of that plane,” and added that U-2 planes flew over Iraqi territory before U.S. attacks in 1993 and 1996.

UNSCOM Chair Richard Butler, however, defended UNSCOM’s use of the U-2 flights, and argued that they were controlled by the United Nations and not by Washington. On Monday, Butler authorised a U-2 overflight, which did not encounter any attack by the Iraqis – although the country’s anti-aircraft defenses remained on alert.

Nearly two weeks into the standoff, U.S. President Bill Clinton urged Sunday that the Security Council send a “very strong and unambiguous message” to Iraq to rescind the threat against the U.S. inspectors. He added that “it would be a very big mistake” for Baghdad to fire on the U-2 planes, saying that he would not accept the killing of any U.S. soldiers.

Beyond shooting down a plane, however, few diplomats here believe that Iraq can provoke any military response from the United States or United Nations. The Security Council is divided on how to deal with Iraq, with the majority of countries – including Russia and France, which have urged an easing of the seven-year U.N. embargo on Iraq – urging all sides to avoid any steps that could lead to military conflict.

Instead, U.S. sources say, Washington will push this week for a unified statement from the Council that Iraq must accept all UNSCOM personnel. If that fails to convince Baghdad, the United States is prepared to propose additional sanctions, including a travel ban against the Iraqi leadership or the suspension of an “oil-for-food” deal, which allows Baghdad to sell one billion dollars’ worth of oil every 90 days to pay for humanitarian goods.

None of those proposals have discouraged Iraq from its present course. “There is nothing beyond what Iraq has suffered (already),” Aziz said, referring to the U.N. embargo, the most extensive to be imposed by the United Nations on any nation. He also dismissed the idea that ending the “oil-for-food” agreement would be a loss, saying that the deal has been “a farce” in which humanitarian goods have often arrived late or been blocked by the Security Council.

Part of Iraq’s problem is that its government “fears that these sanctions are not going to be lifted,” conceded Lakhdar Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat who headed the U.N. mission sent to Baghdad last week. He added that, although Iraq must comply with the weapons inspections – a prerequisite for lifting the sanctions – “these grievances must be listened to and taken into account.”

Aziz pleaded with the Council on Monday to “give us a chance before stampeding another unfair resolution against Iraq…We are ready to exchange and examine the facts, face to face, with (UNSCOM).” However, the United States is unwilling to allow Aziz to bring such complaints up in the Council directly. Diplomats expect that the dispute over whether Aziz can talk to the Council may itself delay action on the crisis for the next few days.

Any further delay could be disastrous for the weapons monitors, Butler argued. For seven consecutive days this past week, UNSCOM weapons teams were blocked from Iraqi sites because the monitors included U.S. nationals. Last week, Butler added, Iraqi authorities moved key equipment out of the view of UNSCOM cameras.

“Any degradation in the monitoring system opens up the possibility that what we are trying to prevent will happen,” and that Iraq can rebuild its weapons, Butler argued. Aziz countered that biological and chemical weapons and long-range missiles cannot be built in a matter of hours — although the tense standoff is likely to last at least for several more days.