LARNACA, Cyprus -- The chief United Nations weapons inspector for Iraq assembled his team in Cyprus yesterday for a return to Baghdad and said the "question of war and peace" awaits an answer from Saddam Hussein.
President Bush has warned that Hussein faces military action if he fails to cooperate fully with the inspectors, who fly to Iraq today. Hussein faces a three-week deadline to reveal weapons of mass destruction or provide convincing evidence that he no longer has any.
Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed El Baradei, overseeing the International Atomic Energy Agency's search for nuclear arms, flew to Cyprus from Vienna, Austria. They joined about two dozen other members of the advance team assembling here to prepare for a resumption of inspections after a nearly four-year absence.
"The question of war and peace remains first of all in the hands of Iraq, the Security Council and the members of the Security Council," Blix said.
Blix, who will lead the overall mission, said his team was prepared to meet the challenge of ensuring Iraqi compliance. But he said he hoped Iraq would not try to hide anything.
The 74-year-old Swedish diplomat said inspectors would be taking along much more sophisticated equipment than was available when the inspection program was suspended in December 1998.
"We do, of course, expect to get tips from the [U.N.] member states," Blix said. "We also have modern equipment that is superior to what we had in the past. But ... we would like the Iraqis to declare, and this is an opportunity for them to do so, and we hope that they will seize that opportunity."
A newspaper owned by one of Hussein's sons, Odai, reported yesterday that Iraq hopes for fair treatment from U.N. weapons inspectors because the stability of the Persian Gulf region depends on their work.
"We hope and wish that inspection teams and officials will act without bias and objectively as U.N. officials because they bear great and moral responsibility which the fate and future of people depends on as well as the security and stability of a whole region," said the newspaper, Babil.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Iraq plans to cooperate fully with inspectors but remains unconvinced that doing so will prevent war with the United States.
Aziz told Britain's Independent Television that his country does not possess weapons of mass destruction and will give inspectors full access to prove it, according to a transcript released before ITV's broadcast yesterday.
"To be honest, we don't know if dealing with this resolution and the deception of the inspectors are going to prevent this war," Aziz said from Baghdad.
Bush is insisting on "zero tolerance" of Iraqi delaying tactics and deceit, which marked the previous inspection effort.
'Intrusive verifications'
El Baradei, an Egyptian, said "intrusive verifications" are needed, meaning inspectors "will use every means at our disposal to make sure that Iraq does not have weapons of mass destruction."
Iraqis with key information would be interviewed outside the country if needed to protect their safety. But, he acknowledged, "if people do not want to talk, we obviously will not be able to force them to talk."
However, Blix favors cooperation instead of confrontation with the Iraqis, and the differences in approach could create tension between the inspectors and the Bush admin- istration, U.N. officials said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
One official said the Americans are keen to beef up the mission with staff and equipment that Blix may not consider necessary. "We're happy for the handshake, but we don't want the hug," said the official, referring to Blix's interest in U.S. support but also in avoiding the appearance that Americans are running the show.
El Baradei spoke of "second-guessing" when asked about pressure from Security Council members. Blix acknowledged input from different governments, but said, "It is we who will decide what to do."
Although Blix has urged the United States to provide more intelligence support for his mission, he also warned over the weekend of the pitfalls of such cooperation, saying in Paris that the previous inspection mission failed in part because of its close association with government intelligence agencies and Western states.
1998 inspection
The last inspectors left Baghdad in December 1998 amid Iraqi allegations that some were spying for the United States and countercharges that Iraq was not cooperating with the teams. Their departure was followed by four days of punishing U.S. and British airstrikes on Iraq.
Blix has said that preliminary inspections probably will resume Nov. 27, with full-scale checks beginning after Iraq files a declaration of its banned weapons programs by a Dec. 8 deadline. Blix then has 60 days to report to the Security Council with his findings.
Hussein agreed Wednesday to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return to search for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons after the Security Council approved a toughly worded resolution. Baghdad, however, insisted in a nine-page letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that it does not have such weapons.
The U.N. resolution gives Iraq "a final opportunity" to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them. It gives inspectors the right to go anywhere at anytime and warns Iraq it will face "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate.
President Bush has warned that Hussein faces military action if he fails to cooperate fully with the inspectors, who fly to Iraq today. Hussein faces a three-week deadline to reveal weapons of mass destruction or provide convincing evidence that he no longer has any.
Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed El Baradei, overseeing the International Atomic Energy Agency's search for nuclear arms, flew to Cyprus from Vienna, Austria. They joined about two dozen other members of the advance team assembling here to prepare for a resumption of inspections after a nearly four-year absence.
"The question of war and peace remains first of all in the hands of Iraq, the Security Council and the members of the Security Council," Blix said.
Blix, who will lead the overall mission, said his team was prepared to meet the challenge of ensuring Iraqi compliance. But he said he hoped Iraq would not try to hide anything.
The 74-year-old Swedish diplomat said inspectors would be taking along much more sophisticated equipment than was available when the inspection program was suspended in December 1998.
"We do, of course, expect to get tips from the [U.N.] member states," Blix said. "We also have modern equipment that is superior to what we had in the past. But ... we would like the Iraqis to declare, and this is an opportunity for them to do so, and we hope that they will seize that opportunity."
A newspaper owned by one of Hussein's sons, Odai, reported yesterday that Iraq hopes for fair treatment from U.N. weapons inspectors because the stability of the Persian Gulf region depends on their work.
"We hope and wish that inspection teams and officials will act without bias and objectively as U.N. officials because they bear great and moral responsibility which the fate and future of people depends on as well as the security and stability of a whole region," said the newspaper, Babil.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Iraq plans to cooperate fully with inspectors but remains unconvinced that doing so will prevent war with the United States.
Aziz told Britain's Independent Television that his country does not possess weapons of mass destruction and will give inspectors full access to prove it, according to a transcript released before ITV's broadcast yesterday.
"To be honest, we don't know if dealing with this resolution and the deception of the inspectors are going to prevent this war," Aziz said from Baghdad.
Bush is insisting on "zero tolerance" of Iraqi delaying tactics and deceit, which marked the previous inspection effort.
Iraqis with key information would be interviewed outside the country if needed to protect their safety. But, he acknowledged, "if people do not want to talk, we obviously will not be able to force them to talk."
However, Blix favors cooperation instead of confrontation with the Iraqis, and the differences in approach could create tension between the inspectors and the Bush admin- istration, U.N. officials said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
One official said the Americans are keen to beef up the mission with staff and equipment that Blix may not consider necessary. "We're happy for the handshake, but we don't want the hug," said the official, referring to Blix's interest in U.S. support but also in avoiding the appearance that Americans are running the show.
El Baradei spoke of "second-guessing" when asked about pressure from Security Council members. Blix acknowledged input from different governments, but said, "It is we who will decide what to do."
Although Blix has urged the United States to provide more intelligence support for his mission, he also warned over the weekend of the pitfalls of such cooperation, saying in Paris that the previous inspection mission failed in part because of its close association with government intelligence agencies and Western states.
Blix has said that preliminary inspections probably will resume Nov. 27, with full-scale checks beginning after Iraq files a declaration of its banned weapons programs by a Dec. 8 deadline. Blix then has 60 days to report to the Security Council with his findings.
Hussein agreed Wednesday to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return to search for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons after the Security Council approved a toughly worded resolution. Baghdad, however, insisted in a nine-page letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that it does not have such weapons.
The U.N. resolution gives Iraq "a final opportunity" to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them. It gives inspectors the right to go anywhere at anytime and warns Iraq it will face "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate.