Weapon Inspections

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz rejected any new dispatch of U.N. weapon inspectors to his country, but he said Baghdad would hold talks with the United Nations. Aziz's comments to reporters in Moscow, at the end of a two-day visit to Russia, followed talks at the U.N. aimed at resuming inspections and lifting sanctions imposed on Baghdad a decade ago. U.N. officials had said they hoped Iraq would agree to let inspectors return to Baghdad.

The Security Council on Friday shut down the weapons inspection program that was at the heart of the U.N.'s effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The team of inspectors, known as the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, did not find the weapons that the U.S. and Britain said had been stockpiled by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The two nations' insistence that such weapons posed an imminent danger was the basis of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The U.S.

Here's the rundown on guests and topics for the weekend's public-affairs programs: Today "Today": Children and holiday stress; Christmas collectibles; unusual gifts; make-over; the Tuscan Village restaurant, 5 a.m. (4). "Evans & Novak": Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), 2:30 p.m., repeats Sunday 7 a.m. CNN. "John McLaughlin's One on One": Bill Richardson, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, 2:30 p.m. (28). "Inside Politics Weekend": Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), 3:30 p.m.; repeats midnight, CNN.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted angrily Sunday to Iraq's cancellation of a $3.7-billion deal with this country's biggest oil company, describing the move as an unfriendly step. News of the Iraqi decision broke Wednesday, just before three days of Russian holidays, and Sunday, the first working day here since then, brought the first official response.

The United Nations will bring new inspection teams to Iraq within days to carry out searches, a U.N. spokeswoman said Wednesday, in what will probably pose a major test to Iraq's promise to cooperate with U.N. inspectors. U.N. teams have carried out more than a week of visits since Iraq relented Nov. 14 and allowed them to resume their work after a two-week hiatus. So far, Iraq has cooperated with the searches.

A U.N. team of biological weapons experts Saturday renewed the search for Iraqi arms that may have gone undetected on earlier missions. Another nuclear inspection team left for Vienna after spending a week measuring material at an Iraqi facility near Baghdad. Officials said there were no reports of problems from either team despite demands that Baghdad allow U.N. helicopters to make surprise inspection flights. President Bush has threatened to send U.S. aircraft to protect the U.N.

A Polish government spokesman in Warsaw said the Soviet army has banned Polish inspectors from verifying Soviet claims that no chemical weapons are kept on Polish territory. Fifty-thousand Soviet troops are stationed in Poland. Warsaw's dispute with Moscow over pulling out troops grew more tense last week after the Soviet Union said its soldiers could not leave Poland before mid-1994. Poland wants them to go by the end of this year.

The Bush Administration accused Iraq on Tuesday of a "clearly unacceptable" violation of Security Council resolutions for refusing to let U.N. commission helicopters fly over Iraqi territory to search for nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The protest came a day after a U.N. official reported the discovery of four Scud missile transporters that had been welded back together after Iraq cut them apart in response to U.N. orders.

President Bush has reportedly authorized the CIA to use all of the means at its disposal--including U.S. military special operations forces and CIA paramilitary teams--to eliminate Iraq's Saddam Hussein. According to reports, the CIA is to view any such plan as "preparatory" for a larger military strike. Congressional leaders from both parties have greeted these reports with enthusiasm. In their rush to be seen as embracing the president's hard-line stance on Iraq, however, almost no one in Congress has questioned why a supposedly covert operation would be made public, thus undermining the very mission it was intended to accomplish.

Iraq's foreign minister will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York next week to discuss Security Council demands for weapons inspections, U.N. officials announced Monday. "The secretary-general expects to have a focused discussion on the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq," a U.N. spokesman said. The meeting with Annan was formally requested by Iraq and the Arab League last month.

President Bush has reportedly authorized the CIA to use all of the means at its disposal--including U.S. military special operations forces and CIA paramilitary teams--to eliminate Iraq's Saddam Hussein. According to reports, the CIA is to view any such plan as "preparatory" for a larger military strike. Congressional leaders from both parties have greeted these reports with enthusiasm. In their rush to be seen as embracing the president's hard-line stance on Iraq, however, almost no one in Congress has questioned why a supposedly covert operation would be made public, thus undermining the very mission it was intended to accomplish.

Iraq's foreign minister will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York next week to discuss Security Council demands for weapons inspections, U.N. officials announced Monday. "The secretary-general expects to have a focused discussion on the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq," a U.N. spokesman said. The meeting with Annan was formally requested by Iraq and the Arab League last month.

Gulf Arab states urged neighboring Iraq on Monday to allow U.N. weapon inspectors back into the country or risk more tension in the Middle East. The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council also called on Iraq to show goodwill toward its neighbors and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait, which Baghdad invaded in 1990 before being driven out seven months later by a U.S.-led multinational force.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz rejected any new dispatch of U.N. weapon inspectors to his country, but he said Baghdad would hold talks with the United Nations. Aziz's comments to reporters in Moscow, at the end of a two-day visit to Russia, followed talks at the U.N. aimed at resuming inspections and lifting sanctions imposed on Baghdad a decade ago. U.N. officials had said they hoped Iraq would agree to let inspectors return to Baghdad.

Congressional opponents of the Clinton administration are challenging its support for the U.N.'s oil-for-food deal with Iraq; some want to arm Iraqi opposition groups to accelerate the demise of Saddam Hussein. This advice may be dangerous. If the assumptions propelling this advice and current U.S.

The United Nations will bring new inspection teams to Iraq within days to carry out searches, a U.N. spokeswoman said Wednesday, in what will probably pose a major test to Iraq's promise to cooperate with U.N. inspectors. U.N. teams have carried out more than a week of visits since Iraq relented Nov. 14 and allowed them to resume their work after a two-week hiatus. So far, Iraq has cooperated with the searches.

Congressional opponents of the Clinton administration are challenging its support for the U.N.'s oil-for-food deal with Iraq; some want to arm Iraqi opposition groups to accelerate the demise of Saddam Hussein. This advice may be dangerous. If the assumptions propelling this advice and current U.S.

After twice approaching the brink of massive bombing of Iraq, President Clinton early Sunday called off military action and accepted President Saddam Hussein's pledge to resume cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors. Although administration officials said they are profoundly skeptical of Hussein's intentions, given Baghdad's record of repeatedly making and breaking such promises, the president decided to declare victory in this round. "Iraq has backed down," Clinton said.

Seeking to break a potentially deadly stalemate over Iraq's refusal to adhere to an international disarmament regimen, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday launched his mission here--what he said was his "sacred duty . . . to find a way out of this crisis"--almost immediately beginning talks with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz. The two met privately for half an hour shortly after Annan's arrival, clearing the way for wider negotiations this morning at Aziz's request.