US President George Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan struck decidedly different notes yesterday on the progress of weapons inspections in Iraq, with Mr Bush expressing scepticism about Iraqi intent and Mr Annan praising the Iraqis' co-operation.
The US also faced a rift with Russia over what items Iraq should be allowed to import, putting in jeopardy the renewal of the oil-for-food programme in Iraq. US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld also reasserted that the US still had the goal of regime change in Iraq.
"Regime change has been the position of the United States government," he said. When Mr Bush went to the United Nations he "focused on disarmament" but "I don't see any change in the administration's position."
At the United Nations, Mr Annan said Iraq's co-operation with weapons inspectors, who resumed work last Monday after a four-year break, seemed to be good. "It is an indication the inspectors are using their new authority effectively," he told reporters at the UN after a successful inspection of an Iraqi palace.
"They have the right to inspect and go anywhere and they have demonstrated that they are determined to use this new authority. There is a good indication that the Iraqis are co-operating, but this is only the beginning. They have to sustain the co-operation and effort and we will have to wait for the report of the inspectors."
However, Mr Bush, who said on Monday that "early signs were not encouraging", insisted that the critical test was whether Iraq got rid of weapons of mass destruction. "The issue is not the inspectors. The issue is whether or not Mr Saddam Hussein disarms like he said he would," Mr Bush told a cheering crowd of 5,000 in Shreveport, Louisiana yesterday - with one man shouting "Go get him George!"
Mr Bush said: "We're not interested in hide-and-seek inside Iraq" and that if Saddam Hussein did not disarm, the US would form a coalition to disarm him.
Chief UN weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix also said yesterday that Iraq had not obstructed his teams but that Baghdad must provide "good explanations" for the discovery by inspectors of the removal of equipment and a monitoring camera from a site where Iraq formerly made Scud missiles.
"Of course over a period of time, equipment can be moved but there must be some good explanations for it, and I'm sure that our people will inquire why was it moved and where was it moved," Dr Blix said.
The atmosphere of co-operation in the UN Security Council since the unanimous resolution on inspections last month was further strained yesterday in a US-Russia row over the humanitarian oil-for-food programme.
This allows Iraq to use its oil revenue to buy humanitarian goods, but the US has demanded that new items be added to the list of banned imports, citing concerns about their possible use in weapons manufacture and deployment. Unless additions were made, the US said it would not support a routine, six-month extension of the programme.
Russia wants to cut back the list which currently includes a range of items from heavy lorries to powerful computers.
The Security Council had given the US until today to get backing for its tougher policy but up to yesterday had not produced an itemised list. However, US ambassador to the UN Mr John Negroponte said last month the US wanted to add atropine injectors and atropine, an antidote used in the event of exposure to nerve agents, as well as jammers, radio intercepts and global positioning equipment. Diplomats said the Pentagon also wanted to add Cipro, used to combat anthrax.
- Actor Robert Redford yesterday accused the Bush administration of a lack of leadership in failing "to wean the United States from dependence on fossil fuels". A long-time solar power advocate, Mr Redford warned in a Los Angeles Times opinion page article that the wasteful use of gas and oil created political problems abroad and air pollution at home.