Iraq

UNSCOM has been able to establish that in the second half of 1986, Iraq began work on at least fifteen different missile systems, in hopes of finding a weapon that would allow them to put pressure on Iran to end the war. Iraq has admitted to all fifteen of these

Washington must face the problem that both the large powers in the Persian Gulf-Iran and Iraq-have regimes unwilling to live in peace with their neighbors or the United States. Several approaches to these vexatious regimes tried by the West have been unsuccessful. Both the reliance on a regional power to

The most recent episode of the ongoing Iraq saga ended last week with at least one permanent member of the UN Security Council-Russia-committing itself to work for the end of UN sanctions, especially the oil export ban. Other Council members (e.g., France, China and Egypt) have also voiced strong support

To the Clinton Administration, the Iraq crisis appears headed toward a satisfactory outcome. As a result of the UN Security Council's unanimous condemnation of Iraq and imposition of additional (if modest) new sanctions, Saddam seems to have succumbed to the will of the international community, with UNSCOM inspectors soon returning

Saddam Husayn probably had several motives in seeking to disrupt UN weapons inspections. First, he sought to undermine the effectiveness of the UN weapons inspectors, if not expel them altogether, because they are the main obstacle to his efforts to transform Iraq into a regional power. Second, Saddam currently has

Iraq's announcement yesterday banning the participation of U.S. citizens in future inspection missions of the UN Special Commission investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program is the latest in a long series of Iraqi challenges to the UN Security Council. Since the end of the Gulf War, however, the Security

On June 2, after a seventeen-year closure, Syria opened its border at three points to its neighbor and long-time rival Iraq. The move, coming amidst unusual reciprocal visits of Iraqi and Syrian business delegations to each others' capitals, suggests an economic marriage of convenience. There is a possibility, however, that

With Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo today, taking their most critical stance against Israel since the start of the Madrid peace process—"recommending" that member-states "stop all normalization" with Israel, suspend participation in the multilateral talks, and "reactivate" the Arab boycott—tomorrow's meeting between President Clinton and Jordan's King Hussein

UNSCOM was established in April 1991 to monitor along with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Iraqi compliance with Resolution 687 (the cease fire resolution that concluded the 1991 Persian Gulf War). Resolution 687 requires Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and links the lifting of the