Saddam pinned George Bush down again

International agency for nuclear power announced on its readiness to send its inspectors to Iraq. Experts can leave for the country any moment, if there is a relevant approval from the UN Security Council.

This document appeared after Iraqi Prime Minister Tarik Aziz released a statement in Baghdad pertaining to the consent of his country for international inspectors to come back to Iraq unconditionally. As he declared,  Iraq had already informed the UN Secretary General  on that decision.

International inspectors left Baghdad  in 1998. The UN Security Council has been trying to return them there since that time. Baghdad has been having it its own way during those years. Iraq believed that the return of international inspectors was only a formality that was supposed to lead to the withdrawal of international sanctions against Iraq.

The USA has an opposite position on the subject. America insists on inspectors’ return without any obligations on the part of the international community. Diamond cuts diamond, so to speak.  That’s why, Tarik Aziz’s statement was a surprising one  for a lot of people. Experts projected that Iraq would try to find a way to react to George Bush’s speech in the UN last week. This would be an attempt to draw a danger of a military strike aside.

This would be completely clear. Yet, nobody could even think that Iraq would say such a thing  without any preliminary conditions at all. Washington and London said altogether that Iraq was trying to be slow about it. Both America and Great Britain  believe that Iraq would only understand the military language. The White House released a statement, in which  the American government confirmed its inclination to take tough measures in order to eliminate Iraqi mass destruction weapon.

The UN Security Council  is supposed to settle the issue of its reaction to the Iraqi suggestion Wednesday. Most likely, the Council will make a positive decision. Russia and France welcomed the decision of the Iraqi leadership.

German Federal Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that Baghdad’ decision to grant entry to UN inspectors was a step in the right direction. At the same time, the minister added that Iraq should  execute UN’s all relevant resolutions its own promises as well.

It is too early to come to any conclusions right now.  Yet, there is one thing clear: Saddam has got some time to rest. He will definitely use that time. Interim elections to the US Congress and the US Senate are to take place in the USA in October. Bush’s hawks  might not obtain the majority that they need so much at the moment.  If it happens, then  one would forget anti-Iraqi sanctions. Saddam has topped Bush again.

Dmitry Chirkin
PRAVDA.Ru