The Hindu : U.N. inspectors in Baghdad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 19, 2002

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U.N. inspectors in Baghdad

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) Nov. 18. In an effort that could avert war, the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix today arrived in Baghdad with a 30-member team to scout for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

The team, that also includes the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad el Baradei flew in from Larnaca, Cyprus, in a UN-chartered C-130 plane that belonged to a South African airline. It will lay the groundwork for inspections that includes fine-tuning satellite surveillance links, establishing air and soil sampling laboratories, and arranging for transportation. The UN inspectors are expected to stay in Baghdad's Canal Hotel, as was the case when they left Iraq in 1998, citing repeated Iraqi obstructions to inspections. A full team of 85 to 100 inspectors should be working in Iraq by the end of December. Inspections were likely to begin on November 27 and inspectors would be free to visit any place including mosques and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's palaces to fulfil their mission.

The first benchmark which could indicate the trajectory of the US-Iraq standoff would be December 8 — the deadline for Iraq to submit a list of all its non-conventional weapons. The UN inspectors are expected to submit their first report to the Security Council by January 27.

According to media reports, UN inspectors have a list of around 1000 sites to scan.

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