War versus inspection

The battle between these two will take place this week, in the UN Security Council chamber, when the US and UK try to pass a new UN Security Council resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq. Neither Russia nor France have ruled out the use of their vetoes.

The report of Blix and El-Baradie will be crucial in determining who wins the battle. Equally crucial is the line the Iraqi government adopts.

However frustrated Baghdad is with the repeated calls made for it to better comply with the relevant UN disarmament resolutions it is in no position to act on that frustration. Nor is it in a position to show resentment at the fact that Washington gives every indication of acting without a UN mandate, its excuse being that Iraq is not fulfilling its own obligations to that organisation.

The Iraqi government has every right to feel that it is being subjected to a disgraceful show of double standards. But that said, the Baghdad regime has absolutely no right to hesitate in responding positively to the requests of inspectors.

This has nothing to do with the credibility, or even legitimacy, of some or all of the inspectors' demands. It has everything to do with the need to exercise pragmatism in times of crisis.

Pragmatism involves giving the anti-war camp every possible tool to undermine US claims that Iraq has failed to comply with the disarmament resolutions.

The US must be denied any pretext to launch a war against Iraq. And since it was the miscalculations of the Iraqi regime that brought Iraq to this point it is the responsibility of the Iraqi regime to remove the Iraqi people from danger.