NP: Don't tell Me He's Gonna Fold Now!

[JBFRAME at aol.com]

IRAQ ALLOWS USE OF SPY PLANES

The Iraqis have sent a letter to UN weapons inspectors approving the use of 
U-2 surveillance planes and pledged to pass legislation outlawing the use of 
weapons of mass destruction, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations said.

''The inspectors are now free to use the American U-2s as well as French and 
Russian planes,'' Ambassador Mohamed al-Douri told The Associated Press.

Iraq had previously blocked the use of the planes, which inspectors said they 
needed in their search for banned weapons.

Al-Douri delivered the letter to the UN Monitoring, Verification and 
Inspection Commission, run at UN headquarters by Hans Blix, the chief weapons 
inspector.

Blix was on his way back to New York after a two-day visit to Baghdad, where 
he met with Iraqi officials in an effort to iron out problems and try to 
enhance Iraqi cooperation with inspections.

Inspectors have made the issue of the U-2 plane a key demand along with other 
issues, including Iraq's failure to pass legislation on weapons of mass 
destruction.

Al-Douri said the legislation would be passed next week and that Iraq would 
continue to encourage scientists to accept private interviews with inspectors 
seeking information about Iraq's weapons programs.

The letter was written by Amer al-Saadi, an adviser to Saddam Hussein and 
Iraq's liaison to the inspectors, al-Douri said.

Blix's counterpart at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El 
Baradei, said earlier Monday that he expected the Iraqis to agree to the 
reconnaissance flights.

Speaking in Vienna after his return from the Baghdad trip, El Baradei said 
that the Iraqis had also agreed to other key demands which he and Blix had 
pushed for during their trip.

''There was a commitment they will fully comply'' with the inspections 
regime, said El Baradei, the top nuclear inspector. ''We made progress on all 
the areas we asked for.''

He said the Iraqis also promised to pass a law banning proscribed weapons.

''I think we got, at least in the area I'm responsible for - nuclear - 
commitment for all that we asked for. But we have to test that of course,'' 
El Baradei said.

El Baradei's spokesman said Iraq had agreed to allow UN inspectors to analyze 
the sites where it claims to have destroyed old chemical and biological 
weapons.

''Iraq has offered to allow the inspectors to thoroughly investigate and 
analyze the sites where they claim to have destroyed chemical and biological 
weapons,'' said Mark Gwozdecky, the spokesman.

Iraq said the inspectors, accompanied by Iraqi officials, would be allowed to 
drill and analyze the findings, Gwozdecky said.

Over the weekend, the Iraqis gave the chief inspectors more documents 
pertaining to Iraq's past chemical and biological weapons, prompting the top 
inspectors to say they sensed a ''good beginning'' and a ''positive 
attitude'' in Baghdad.

AP-NY-02-10-03 1506 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.

Of Course this will be rejected out of hand as being one of Saddam's lies.  
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