US's Richardson bombs the agreement?
Iraq, International, 2/24/1998

With the arrival of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the UN headquarters in New York City to brief the Security Council on the results of his recently concluded UN-Iraq deal, the crisis that has been averted will move to its next phase of testing the content of the agreement signed by Iraq and to be approved by the UN Security Council members.

The agreement, according to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, is committed to total access, saying "UNSCOM will test thoroughly and comprehensively" Iraq's compliance to the agreement, and adding, "We will act firmly and forcefully, without delay" if the agreement is not honored.

Albright said that the UN Security Council will address ambiguities in the proposal "with respect to procedure."

US President Bill Clinton, who was the driving force behind the crisis and its resolution, said today that this is the "first time in seven years" that all sites in Iraq will be open for weapons inspections.

The agreement that allowed for the inspections to move forward provides for unfettered access to all sites, including the so-called "presidential" sites. There will also be diplomats, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, accompanying the UNSCOM teams in the presidential sites, a condition Iraq insisted on in order to ensure that UNSCOM is not intentionally delaying its work in Iraq in order to prolong the sanctions, as the Iraqis have claimed. Blair stated that the diplomats would have to be properly qualified.

With the US giving tentative approval to this agreement, the US will move forward, along with Britain, to "encapsulate" the agreement into a new Security Council resolution to be approved that Blair said will call for the "most severe consequences" against Iraq should it not honor the agreement.

US military forces will remain in the Gulf "until we are satisfied... that Iraq is complying" with the agreement, Clinton said yesterday.

Albright said, "UNSCOM will test thoroughly and comprehensively" Iraq's compliance to the agreement, hinting that they will move to do so as soon as the new agreement is approved.
Annan today after the briefing of the Security Council said that "this agreement can and should work" adding that "there are details which will have to be worked out." Annan said that Iraq should be given dignity and advised "not to push our weight around."

But with all the euphoria that surrounds the almost-certain approval of the agreement, US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson, who will be part of the negotiation team, may have thrown a monkey wrench into the agreement, saying, "The US is of the view that _all_ UN resolutions" must be met before sanctions are lifted.

Richardson's statement is in contrast to Annan's statement that referred to the removal of the sanctions once the UN inspection team has expeditiously finished its work, thus fulfilling the Security Council resolutions and not all UN resolutions. Annan said on Monday in his conference with Iraq's Aziz at the conclusion of the agreement "The way we have discussed this problem, our determination to improve cooperation, to enhance the work of UNSCOM, and accelerate the process, we will be seeing light at the end of the tunnel," referring to the sanctions.

Previous Stories:
  Crisis averted: Clinton approves UN-Iraq deal   (2/23/1998)
  Annan's visit may force US hand   (2/19/1998)
  What has a Catholic priest to say about Iraq   (2/18/1998)

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