US uses UN to advance war aims

[k hanly]

The US administration is planning to have the UN require Iraq to meet threebenchmarks to show that it is co-operating with the inspection process.Each requirement furthers the US invasion plans either by providing alleged evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destructions, weakening Iraq's defensive capabililties, or giving the US useful intelligence. THe first requirement is to allow inspectors to interview Iraqi scientists without any government witness present preferably in other countries. Some have already been interviewed privately but no doubt what the US hopes is that there will be opportunity for interviews in another country where the US can offer asylum and no doubt rewards to any Iraqi scientist who gives evidence, whether true or false. This would bolster the US case for war against Hussein. The second requirement is that Iraq destroy the missiles that were found to have ranges that were marginally beyond the accepted ranges. If Hussein concedes to this he has weakened his defences against an invasion by the US and its allies. The US demands that Iraq destroy even weapons needed to defend itself! Finally the third requirement is for unconditional overflights by reconnaissance aircraft, including US planes. Are we to think that information from US reconnaissance planes would not be relayed to US intelligence? If Hussein agrees to this he has given carte blanche to the US to collect everything it ever wanted to know about targets in Iraq. The new demands on Iraq have nothing to do with co-operation and everything to do withadvancing US war plans. Cheers, Ken Hanly