Sabri, Annan fail to agree on return of inspectors; draft of American attack on Iraq
Iraq, Politics, 7/6/2002

Negotiations between Iraq and the UN in Vienna on Friday failed in maintaining an agreement to settle the issue of the UN mass destruction weapons inspectors return to Iraq. A situation which will pave the way before implementing a US military plan to attack Iraq, with the aim of toppling Saddam Hussein. News on this plan were leaked on Friday to be the first draft which in detail, set the axes of the American attack.

The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the "Iraqis did not say yes" for the return of the UN weapons inspectors. But he added in a press conference held after his talks with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri in Vienna that the UN "will keep in touch" with Iraq.

Annan said "a constructive discussion at the technical level," which focussed on the remaining disarmament issues and the practical arrangements that would apply should UN inspections resume. The Iraqi delegation, he said, would now report back to its authorities, while contacts would continue on technical matters."There has been some movement," he said, but added, "I would have preferred to move further."

Annan said there will be "another series of negotiations" but he did not define its date nor place. Annan was also careful not to deal with the current discussions in the US on the likely military intervention in Iraq. He noted "I am not here to halt an attack by the US against Iraq, rather I am here to pave for the return back of the inspectors." On the other hand, Sabri announced following Annan's departure "we will be in touch." He admitted the failure of the negotiations on the return back of the UN inspectors to Iraq in exchange for lifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990.

However, the failure of Vienna's negotiations came hours after the New York Times daily spoke of what it called a draft US military plan to invade Iraq. The plan states launching an attack from several directions by forces of thousands of naval troops and the army and expected the invasion to take place from Kuwait.

The paper quoted a person who had seen the document that this top- secret plan states that land, sea and air forces will launch an attack from three directions in a campaign to topple the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

According to the New York Times, "The document envisions tens of thousands of marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait. Hundreds of warplanes based in as many as eight countries, possibly including Turkey and Qatar, would unleash a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields, roadways and fiber-optics communications sites."

Previous Stories:
  Annan, Sabri express satisfaction over preliminary talks   (7/5/2002)
  Turkey denies deployment of American troops on border with Iraq   (7/5/2002)
  UN secretary general arrives in Vienna to hold talks with Iraq's Sabri   (7/4/2002)
  Iraq denounces the Free Europe radio   (7/4/2002)
  American reinforcement in Turkey for striking Iraq; Baghdad: dialogue with the UN will not bring back the inspectors   (6/28/2002)
  The US and the Iraqi opposition   (6/12/2002)

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