Iraq Welcomes Inspectors Unconditionally; U.S. Skeptical

"We are awaiting the green light from the U.N. Security Council to tell us what are the next steps," International Atomic Energy Agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said Tuesday.

"We are ready to go back immediately. We have been ready for the past four years. We are looking for cooperation in all respects -- unconditional and unrestricted -- for our inspectors." 

Iraq's letter to the United Nations offering to allow the inspectors to return without conditions was met by skepticism from U.S. officials.

A senior White House official said, "The world has been down this road before." The official said the offer shows that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein "reacts to maximum pressure," adding, "It is not the time to relax any of that pressure." END

This is nothing more then a delaying tactic and I am happy to read that the U.S. and U.K. have seen right through it.  I also read a few reactions from world leaders around the country most have welcomed this recent change of heart from Saddam Hussein.  I can’t believe that they would ignore his past history for the possibility of averting war.  My fear is that it will build momentum in the U.S. and liberal bleeding hearts will start protesting military action. 

There is also another problem.  If you have been watching the news you know that even if Saddam allows weapons inspectors back they probably never will find any weapons that we are looking for.  They are being built in underground bunkers or deep within buildings that have been disguised as shopping malls or as an office building.  Even if we do uncover such a facility then what!  Do we take immediate military action, which incidentally takes time, or do we set down and negotiate again.  Finding these labs will be like searching for a needle in a haystack, and you can bet the Iraqi government will be staking a fine line to keep us from uncovering anything.

My biggest fear is that this game of hide and seek goes on long enough for them to acquire all the materials needed to build a viable nuclear device.  That can mean a device as small as a suitcase or a long-range missile capable of hitting one of our allies or the U.S.  A handheld suitcase size nuclear device, if detonated in a downtown metropolitan city, would kill a minimum of 100,000 people and render the city uninhabitable for years to come. 

Unfortunately, most of the world doesn't see the long-range catastrophic consequences of allowing Iraq off the hook or more time. We believe that Saddam is nothing more than a child bully that we can control and take out at any time he gets out of control. We handled him with little trouble in the early nineties and we'll do it again ten years later. Yes, we probably will, but time is on his side to put himself in the position to inflect heavy damage in a probable future invasion…even in a losing effort. Saddam isn't going away and he will die before he gives up power, even if it means destroying the world. Better to put the fire out now then to fight an inferno later.

One thing that we must keep in mind, this isn't world war II, Vietnam, or even the Gulf War. The rules have changed considerably and we can't afford to underestimate anyone. One miscalculation could bring on results that would make the tragedy of 911 pale in comparison.