El-Baradei demands progress before visit to Baghdad

31 January 2003
Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed el-Baradei said on 31 January that he and Hans Blix would have to see more progress on Iraqi co-operation if the two were to accept an invitation to Baghdad. The Iraqi government asked Blix and El-Baradei to attend talks ahead of their second report on the inspections process to the UN Security Council on 14 February. Their first report on 27 January was unexpectedly critical of Iraqi compliance (MEED 28:1:03). However, the IAEA chief said that he would have to see a 'move forward' on issues such as private interviews with Iraqi scientists and the use of U2 surveillance planes. 'Private interviews are very important to create confidence,' he said. 'It is in their own national interest to speak to us directly in private.' He also said that Blix and himself would have to have access to 'the highest level of leadership'.

The Iraqi reaction to the Blix report has been a mixture of conciliation and defiance. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said in an interview with Canadian television: 'All aspects of co-operation have been met and we promise to be more forthcoming in the future, replying to all their needs in [a] way that satisfies them.' However, in the same discussion he threatened to retaliate against Kuwait if the US used it as a base for invasion. On 30 January, Saddam Hussein warned that aggressors against Iraq would meet lines of trenches before being 'crushed totally'. 'I am not afraid of announcing our plans on TV,' he said, and spoke of training all Iraqis to fight invaders. 'My aim is to rid ourselves of the horrors of their evil intentions.'

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