(New Republic) - Iraq's letter offering to readmit weapons inspectors actually says that Saddam Hussein will "allow the return" of the inspectors without conditions, not that he will allow the discharge of their mission to occur without conditions - as Security Council resolutions demand. Richard Butler, who from 1997 to 1999 headed UNSCOM, the first body empowered to conduct inspections, wrote in an Australian newspaper: "What does unconditional mean - they'll let [the inspectors'] plane land at the airport?...It's what happens after they land which counts. No guarantees there."
2002-09-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive