Updates from previous political updates, by subject:

5-22-02

Alleged links to terrorism

Another reported Al Qaeda-Iraqi link surfaced in April, when a suicide team of three terrorists attempted but failed to kill a pro-Western regional prime minister in Kurdistan. Kurdish officials claimed that the attackers were linked to Ansar al-Islam.

Striking Iraq?

As fighting between Arabs and Israelis continues, America's plans for toppling Saddam Hussein appear to be headed for deep storage, if not the deep freeze. Vice President Cheney could already feel the temperature plunging in March, when his icy reception at Arab capitals included warnings that America had to solve the Arab-Israeli problem before even thinking about Iraq. And Iraq has not missed the connection. Saddam Hussein has reportedly increased the reward Iraq pays Palestinian suicide bombers from $10,000 to $25,000.

The diplomatic chess game

The idea of a special list of goods dates back to the summer of 2001. At that time, the United States and the United Kingdom proposed that all civilian goods not on the GRL would be free to go. The plan also called for UN-observed inspections of the cargo of all non-Iraqi civilian flights destined to land in or take off from Iraq. In addition, the plan called for tightening UN control over the revenue Iraq receives from the sale of its oil to its neighbors. These revenues were to go into escrow accounts or be used to pay for goods shipped in return. The plan called on the Secretary General to arrange with these frontline states to import up to 150,000 barrels per day, and to provide them assistance in order to enhance border monitoring of Iraq. The plan also called for the Secretary General to establish a list of acceptable companies authorized to handle Iraqi oil exports. These controls are not a part of the new resolution adopted in mid-May.

The United Nations has also been busy talking to Iraq about readmitting weapon inspectors. In March 2002, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri met to discuss weapon inspections. Annan reportedly demanded Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions, including the resumption of inspections. In return, the Iraqi side provided a list of 20 questions about inspections that it wished to have answered. No agreement was reached, but another meeting was scheduled in mid-April, at Sabri's request.

In early May, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri met for the second time in two months with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss renewing inspections. The meetings have produced no agreement so far. The next round of talks is expected in July. After the meetings, Annan was upbeat, saying that for the first time, the Iraqis were willing to talk about the details of resumed inspections. Annan reportedly credited much of the progress to the fact that key Iraqi weapon scientists were part of the delegation, including Jafaar Dhia Jafaar, a senior nuclear physicist, and Gen. Amir H. Al-Saadi.

Oil for food - or arms?

Since December 1999, when UN Resolution 1284 was adopted, there has been no legal limit on the amount of oil Iraq can sell under UN supervision. Nor is Iraq barred from importing the equipment it needs to rebuild its oil production capacity. The only remaining legal restriction on Iraq's oil income is that it must go into a UN-controlled escrow account set up under the UN's oil-for-food program. Iraq can use this account to buy items such as food and medicine, but not arms.

UNMOVIC

UN Resolution 1284, which created UNMOVIC, also created a College of Commissioners, sixteen of whom were appointed by the UN Secretary General in March 2000. The Commissioners met for the first time in May 2000. They discussed operational procedures, recruitment, training, and decided to revise the lists of strategically sensitive items that require special permission to be exported to Iraq, the so-called "trigger" lists. Since then, the Commissioners have met several times, discussing issues such as sensitive sites, the need for guidelines for inspections, and a draft plan for resuming inspections, as well as preparations to begin inspections and monitoring. The Commissioners have also discussed the list of unresolved disarmament issues and the requirements for Iraqi performance of each disarmament task. In addition, the Commissioners discussed the ongoing revisions of the "1051" or "trigger" lists, which were completed in early June 2001.