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20 November 1997

PICKERING: IRAQ APPEARS TO HAVE MADE RIGHT DECISION

(UNSCOM must be allowed to complete its task) (480)
By Rick Marshall
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- "Today Iraq appears to have made the right decision"
when it announced it would readmit inspectors from the United Nations
Special Commission (UNSCOM), Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering
said at the Foreign Press Center November 20.
"Our position on sanctions remains clear and unchanged," he stated.
"It is imperative that UNSCOM be allowed to complete its task."
Saddam has an obligation to meet all the (U.N.) resolutions,"
Pickering stressed. He "cannot pick and choose" among them.
Pickering made it clear that the United States does not believe that
UNSCOM should be changed and that it must retain full capacity to
carry out its U.N. Security Council mandate.
At the same time, he stressed that "it is up to the executive director
(of UNSCOM) to determine his needs." Although he is ultimately
responsible to the U.N. Security Council, it is he who is responsible
for selecting the individual inspectors he considers to be the most
effective, Pickering said.
Given the "unique skills" of the American inspectors, the Under
Secretary left little doubt that he expected them to retain an
essential role in UNSCOM.
He added that Richard Butler, the UNSCOM executive director, has "the
full backing" of the United States.
Asked when the U.N. sanctions against Iraq might be lifted, Pickering
said that by his intransigence, Saddam Hussein has "set back the day"
when the sanctions can be lifted. Indeed, "the way to perpetuate
sanctions on himself" is to continue to thwart the international
community by refusing to comply with the U.N. resolutions, he added.
Asked repeatedly whether there might be changes to U.N. Resolution
986, the so-called oil-for-food arrangement, Pickering said that if
there were deficiencies to it, the U.N. would work to address them. At
the same time, however, he pointed out that Saddam had been "very slow
to accept" 986, holding it up and denying the relief it promised his
people for an "unconscionable amount of time."
As for Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeniy Primakov's recent diplomatic
efforts, Pickering expressed the "appreciation" of the United States.
But Russia was acting unilaterally when it reportedly offered to work
to end the sanctions and make UNSCOM more effective, Pickering said.
"We've made no concessions," he repeated, adding that it is not clear
exactly what the Russians meant by making UNSCOM more effective.
Asked about the perception that Saddam may have gained stature in
parts of the Arab world, Pickering acknowledged that it was "a matter
of concern." At the same time, he pointed to Saddam's "insidious
nature" as witnessed by his invasion of his Arab neighbor, Kuwait, in
1991 and the environmental catastrophe he created in firing Kuwait's
oil wells at the end of the Gulf War.