U.N. Inspectors Can Return Unconditionally, Iraq Says

nyt ^

[Jordi]

Following is the text of a letter that was sent yesterday by Naji Sabri, Iraq's minister of foreign affairs, to Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing the return of United Nations weapons inspectors without conditions:

I have the honor to refer to the series of discussions held between Your Excellency and the Government of the Republic of Iraq on the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions on the question of Iraq, which took place in New York on 7 March and 2 May and in Vienna on 4 July 2002, as well as the talks which were held in your office in New York on 14 and 15 September 2002, with the participation of the secretary general of the League of Arab States.

I am pleased to inform you of the decision of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to allow the return of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq without conditions.

The Government of the Republic of Iraq has responded, by this decision, to your appeal, to the appeal of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, as well as those of Arab, Islamic and other friendly countries.

The Government of the Republic of Iraq has based its decision concerning the return of inspectors on its desire to complete the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction.

This decision is also based on your statement to the General Assembly on 12 September 2002 that the decision by the Government of the Republic of Iraq is the indispensable first step towards an assurance that Iraq no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction and, equally importantly, towards a comprehensive solution that includes the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iraq and the timely implementation of the other provisions of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 687 (1991).

To this end, the Government of the Republic of Iraq is ready to discuss the practical arrangements necessary for the immediate resumption of inspections.

In this context, the Government of the Republic of Iraq reiterates the importance of the commitment of all member states of the Security Council and the United Nations to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Iraq, as stipulated in the relevant Security Council resolutions and Article II of the Charter of the United Nations.

I would be grateful if you bring this letter to the attention of the Security Council members.

Please accept, Mr. Secretary General, the assurances of my highest consideration.

DR. NAJI SABRI Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of Iraq

[Jordi]

Well,tech stocks are jumping above the roof in European markets. The Nasdaq will gain at least 100 point today. I'm happy because I'm unloading with great plusvalences.

[SaudiDuck]

No, no, no... This is the NEW "Line of Death."

[D-fendr]

c/����cp headline about a false promise. Finding the weasel takes about a minute:

"…the Government of the Republic of Iraq is ready to discuss the practical arrangements necessary for the immediate resumption of inspections."

And, if, of course, this is part of lifting sanctions. I figure Iraq would like to discuss this for, say, until 2008.

The "unconditional" has conditional holes big enough to drive an armoured personnel carrier through.

The only question is how long Kofi and the media try to cover it for you.

[goldstategop]

It all depends on what the meaning of the word "unconditional" is. Iraq's setting forth conditions sure don't sound like unconditional surrender to me. The regime needs to made to cry "Uncle!"

[D-fendr]

Wha happened? Should be:

A false headline about a false promise. Finding the weasel takes about a minute:

"To this end [lifting sanctions] the Government of the Republic of Iraq is ready to discuss the practical arrangements necessary for the immediate resumption of inspections."

Ready to discuss the conditions, er, arrangements, of the unconditional. And, of course, this must be part of lifting sanctions. I figure Iraq would like to discuss this for, say, until 2008.

The "unconditional" has conditional holes big enough to drive an armoured personnel carrier through.

The only question is how long Kofi and the media try to cover it for you.

[dennisw]

No such thing as unconditionally with the Arabs. Haggling in the souk (the marketplace) is a way of life for them. Ain't gonna stop now.

So obviously Saddam/Iraq are lying already. Before the haggling over the composition of the inspection team even starts. Unconditionally my a$$!

Our build up will continue while the word games go on.

 

Old Souk (Market) in Baghdad

 

[OXENinFLA]

The Government of the Republic of Iraq has based its decision concerning the return of inspectors on its desire to complete the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Well I need no more proof it's right there in there own writing (If the translation is correct) that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction. Ghess, They are making this to easy, keep it up Sadam you murdering F***.

[Rome2000]

To the treacherous arabs, "without conditions" translates to "To this end, the Government of the Republic of Iraq is ready to discuss the practical arrangements necessary for the immediate resumption of inspections".

[goldstategop]

Hey it all depends on what is meant by the term "practical arrangements." :)

[Jordi]

Saddam will do anything to preserve his regime. He's getting old,his goal is to remain in power.

[NerdDad]

I caught the "discuss practical arrangements" part but the other weasel I see is the repeating of the term "relevant Security Council resolutions". Who gets to decide if the resolution is relevant? Hopefully, GW won't fall for this crap. Keep the build-up going, keep the pressure on.

We all saw (or should have seen) this delaying tactic coming from a mile away. The press, the UN, and even our own government spokespeople have been standing in this open door yelling and waving to get Saddam's attention so he could avoid attack a little longer (at least until after the dems take back the house and senate). I would not be at all surprised to learn that Colon Bowel and Tommy Dasshole helped Kofi draft the letter for the Iraqis.

[Psalm 73]

Stall tactics - should work about as long as it takes us to get a few heavy divisions in place...
God Bless America, and LET'S ROLL!!!

[johnb838]

He's getting old,his goal is to remain in power.

That is a valid way of looking at it and certainly true. However there is another perspective, equally valid I think. He's getting old, he's running out of time to make his true mark on history.

He's not really lying about these inspections... he's merely practicing al-taqiyyah, or Holy Deception, which is every muslim's duty when confronted with the perfidy of the infidel. Don't blame him.

[Lion's Cub]

and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction

Good catch, OiF. I read right over that. If the translation is correct, I wonder if he's really threatening the UN?

I might read right over it, but I don't believe for a moment all the diplomatic corps and heads of state will...

[Dog Gone]

Today's rally should be a good time to sell stocks. It is based on false optimism that Iraq will actually permit inspections and destruction of their WMD.

The Bush Administration knows better, and so do we.