IRAQ: The prospect of immediate war over Iraq receded yesterday minutes before 11.00 a.m. when Baghdad's ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Mohammed al-Douri, took the lift to the executive floor of the UN Building in New York. He went to the office of UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan and handed in a nine-page letter signed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr Naji Sabri.
With 48 hours to spare from the seven-day ultimatum set by the UN Security Council last Friday, Saddam Hussein had decided not to defy the will of the United Nations. "The letter says that Iraq accepts the resolution, and accepts the return of inspectors," the ambassador said after delivering it. "There are no conditions, no reservations."
He added that the letter explained that Iraq "has not and will not have any mass destruction weapons, so we are not worried about the inspectors when they will be back.
"We are eager to see the inspectors perform their duties in accordance with international law. This is a part of our policy . . . to protect our region also from the threat of war, which is real."
The first trip-wire for conflict has now been bypassed. The next crisis will probably come on December 8th, when Iraq, under the terms of the resolution, must supply a full statement of its weapons facilities and stores.
Iraq must by that date provide the inspectors with "a currently accurate, full and complete declaration" of all aspects of its programmes to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
Paragraph 4 states that "false statements or omissions" in the declaration submitted by Iraq "shall constitute a further material breach of Iraq's obligations".
The US has compiled a list of 100 suspected sites and if its intelligence about weapons sites does not match the December declaration, it could insist that a "material breach" had occurred.
If Iraq continues to deny that it has any forbidden materials, this is a prossible scenario for war.
A critical moment could come sooner if Iraq obstructs the weapons inspectors before the second deadline is reached.
Dr Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector and Mr Mohamed el Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will travel to Baghdad on Monday and a small advance team will follow on November 25th.
Their task is to supervise the re-opening of UN inspection offices. But some spot checks for weapons of mass destruction will be made, and any serious obstruction by Iraqi officials will constitute a "material breach" of the resolution and set the stage for an American-led invasion.
The resolution is uncompromising. It requires Iraq to allow "immediate, unimpeded, unconditional and unrestricted" access to any site in Iraq above or below ground. It directs the chief inspectors "to report immediately to the council any interference by Iraq with inspection activities", as well as any failure by Iraq to comply with its disarmament obligations.
In the event of a "material breach" the full 15-member Security Council will convene immediately to consider the situation but as President Bush said yesterday, "I have told the United Nations we'll be glad to consult with them but the resolution does not prevent us from doing what needs to be done, which is to hold Saddam Hussein to account."
A full UN inspection team - some 100 officials - is to be in place by December 23rd and will fan out across the country to inspect sites, including presidential palaces. The chief weapons inspectors must then update the Security Council on how their new inspections regime is working by February 21st next year.
Reuters adds:
The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, said Iraq had taken a "first step" in announcing that it had accepted the new UN resolution but warned vigilance was needed over President Saddam Hussein's "notoriously changeable" intentions.
Russia welcomed Iraq's decision and called on inspectors to resume work as soon as possible.
France said it "now expects Iraq's full and complete cooperation with the UN".