Step up or move over

With the recent announcement that the United Nations and Iraq have come to an agreement to bring weapons inspectors into the country for the first time since 1998, the U.N. has a unique opportunity to prove itself to be an effective and relevant organization. In order to do this, the U.N. must not stand back and allow Iraq to operate under the same weapons inspection operations that were allowed when the inspectors were expelled from the country four years ago.\nThe U.N. must force the issue of a non-conditional weapons inspection agreement and make the Iraqi government permit all inspections in all locations. To simply allow a dictator such as Saddam Hussein to determine where and how weapons inspections are to be conducted is an insult to those who have died due to his chemical weapons attacks - such as the Kurds in northern Iraq and the Iranians. Also, if the U.N. were to stroll back into Iraq as if nothing had happened since 1998, they would let down the countries that rely on them to provide international peace.\nNot only have numerous intelligence reports from the United States and Britain given evidence of wrong doing by the Iraqi government, but Iraq itself has admitted to producing weapons of mass destruction. In 1995, Iraq admitted to producing biological weapons using thousands of liters of anthrax, botulinim toxin, and aflatoxin for use with Scud warheads, aerial bombs and aircraft. They also admitted to starting a nuclear weapons program. Even the U.N. Special Commission produced a report that same year detailing that Iraq had understated its program, and had produced "two to four times the amount of most agents, including anthrax and botulinim toxin, than it had declared." So it should come to no surprise that a recent US intelligence report states "Iraq has biological and chemical weapons and some illegal long-range missiles."\nNow this must not be mistaken for a call to war. It is always wise to examine all other options before military conflict, but the simple allowance of U.N. weapons inspectors as a public relations move is not one of them. They must make it clear to the Iraqi government that there is no compromise when it comes to the search for these weapons. There are no sacred sites, such as Hussein's eight prestigious palaces, where inspectors are not allowed to tread. Because if "Iraq no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction" as Iraqi Foreign Affairs Minister Naji Sabri stated in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, informing him of Iraq's decision to readmit inspectors, then what's the problem?\nBut if the U.N. cannot fulfill the responsibility it owes this planet by not allowing Iraq to negotiate on weapons inspection conditions, then it needs to step aside and allow those who can and will.