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Interview: Mark Landler on U.N. and Iraqi Officials Discussing Return of Weapons Inspectors to Iraq
Morning Edition: October 1, 2002
 Weapons Inspectors
BOB EDWARDS, host:
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Bob Edwards.
United Nations and Iraqi officials are holding their second and last day of consultations in Vienna on logistical arrangements for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq. The discussions are focusing on details such as where the inspection teams will be based, their accommodations and security and access to so-called sensitive sites in Iraq. New York Times reporter Mark Landler is in Vienna.
How are the talks going?
Mr. MARK LANDLER (The New York Times): They say that they're going moderately well. The first day was a full day of talks; they went through till after 6:00. And when they emerged from the meeting, Hans Blix, who is the chief inspector, and Mohamed ElBaradei, who's the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, both reported making some progress, although both acknowledged there were issues left outstanding, some of which center on this issue of access. How much access are they going to have to sites that, during the '90s, they were restricted in terms of when they could go, who had to accompany them when they went. And I think if there was a focus to this meeting, it's in sort of expanding that envelop, making more sites accessible. And I think the success or failure of the talks may be judged by how far they get in that direction.
EDWARDS: Well, Blix says his team should be allowed to go anywhere anytime. What are the Iraqis saying?
Mr. LANDLER: Well, the Iraqis say, very simply, that they are adhering to the terms of the existing UN resolution, which actually doesn't allow him access anywhere anytime. There are certain sites that are virtually off-limits, including the eight presidential palaces that Saddam Hussein maintains in which the Americans, among others, suspect are used as hiding places for the chemical and biological weapons programs. And then there's a second category of what they call sensitive sites, which are not off-limits, but which the UN can, under the terms of a protocol, only go to after giving the Iraqis advanced knowledge and obtaining diplomatic escorts. So Mr. Blix isn't wrong to say that he has anytime-anywhere access, but that's with certain limitations imposed on it.
EDWARDS: Well, the US wants a new UN resolution, one that includes the threat of military action, if needed. Is that having any impact in Vienna?
Mr. LANDLER: Well, of course it is. They are saying, for the record, that they're here to talk about logistical arrangements and that they're not getting bogged down in a discussion of what a new resolution might say, what it might mean for the Iraqis' willingness to allow them back in. But I think--and everyone is being realistic--these talks, in a way, have become a bit of a side show. The action is in the Security Council, it's in Washington and Paris and various capitals, where they are hammering out what a resolution will say. Will it be a one-part resolution? Will it be a two-part resolution?
And there were even indications from Washington yesterday that this whole conversation here in Vienna ought, perhaps, to be postponed or deferred or, in some way, hinge on what happens at the United Nations. So they are very cognizant of it, although they are saying that limited scope for these talks can continue, regardless of what goes on in New York.
EDWARDS: The Iraqis were supposed to take to Vienna a backlog of reports on dual-use facilities, those that have a military as well as civilian component. Did they do that?
Mr. LANDLER: That's scheduled to happen today. We haven't heard yet whether it will. Last night, the UN was very confident that they were going to produce what the senior diplomat called a lot of CDs, compact disks, that had all the information on them. And, in fact, after they emerge from their first session today, I'm sure the first question will be: Did they produce the CDs? Do the CDs have all the information you were expecting? That would also be seen as a fairly significant step forward in the relationship.
EDWARDS: New York Times correspondent Mark Landler in Vienna.
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