U.N. inspectors indicated Thursday they would not resume their work in Iraq until the Security Council decides whether to adopt a resolution that could give them broad powers.
Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said he hoped council members would make up their minds quickly. If the rules changed while he was in Iraq, he said, "it would be awkward."
In the meantime, Blix is moving ahead with plans to send an advance team to Baghdad in mid-October following an accord he reached with Iraq earlier this week on logistics for resuming inspections. "The readiness is there to go. We hope it won't be a long delay. We are ready to go at the earliest practical opportunity," he told reporters after briefing the council.
Mohamed El Baradei, whose International Atomic Energy Agency is in charge of nuclear inspections, indicated inspectors would wait for a decision. "We need to align our date with the deliberation of the council," El Baradei said.
"There is an understanding in the council that the inspectors cannot go back under existing resolutions," deputy US ambassador James Cunningham said after Blix briefed the council.
Blix and El Baradei are heading to Washington Friday for meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. "I hope to hear something of what their planning is, and we'll tell them what our planning is," Blix said.
In a related development, US lawmakers agreed to debate the wording of a resolution that would authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq. The House of Representatives International Relations Committee debated the final wording of the resolution to be put to the full House.
In the Senate, where the White House faces more opposition, lawmakers voted 95-1 to open debate on the proposal, which is expected to be voted on next week.
Meanwhile, Israel's Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Thursday night that he expects an American attack on Iraq by late November. "It's possible it will begin toward the end of November," Ben-Eliezer told Labor Party ministers in Tel Aviv.
Ben-Eliezer noted that Israel is ready for any eventuality.
He spoke after military sources told Israel Radio they now do not expect Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to launch Scud missiles carrying non-conventional warheads at Israel because this would prove to the world that the Americans are right in claiming he has such weapons.
According to Haaretz, an Israeli security delegation arrived in Washington Thursday to consult with U.S. officials ahead of a possible war in Iraq.
The Israeli team will meet with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and other top U.S. officials. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
