IRAQ : U.N. Demands Entry to Weapons Sites

A standoff between the United Nations and Iraq escalated as inspectors demanded unconditional access to weapons sites after Iraq for the first time flatly denied entry to sensitive facilities. Iraq’s stance defies U.N. resolutions approved after the 1991 Persian Gulf War that allow inspectors to search for banned chemical, nuclear and biological weapons and long-range missiles. The 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution that demands “immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to any and all areas, facilities, equipment, records and means of transportation which they wished to inspect.”