Iraq Inspection Issue Left Hanging

The controversy over Iraq’s refusal to allow unconditional U.N. helicopter weapons inspections appeared unresolved Sunday despite a closed-door meeting between Iraqi Foreign Minister Ahmed Hussein Khudayer and the president of the Security Council.

This raised the possibility that President Bush, in his address to the U.N. General Assembly today, might threaten to deploy U.S. military forces on inspection missions if Iraq does not comply with U.N. demands.

After the session with French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Bernard Merimee, the president of the Security Council this month, Khudayer, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters, “Yes, of course, they can use helicopters.”

But this comment, in itself, did not signify any progress. Iraq had previously authorized the use of helicopters but set conditions that proved unacceptable to both President Bush and the Security Council.

To complicate matters, there was no sign that Khudayer had delivered any letter to Merimee formally setting down Iraq’s acquiescence.