Iraq Endgame at the U.N.

Saddam Hussein and the White House are moving at diplomatic warp speed, each maneuvering for advantage with the U.N. Security Council. Even the resolution the White House has submitted to Congress formally authorizing U.S. action against Iraq is aimed in large part at forcing the U.N.’s hand. If the Bush administration is willing to compromise on its timetable, and if the U.N. is willing to demand unhindered weapons inspections inside Iraq, war can still be avoided--or if undertaken, attract the support of key U.S. allies.

Baghdad is pursuing its own two-track policy of threats and accommodation. After warning the U.S. of bloody consequences last week if it launches a war, Iraq is now moving to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors in talks at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.

The Vienna talks between Iraq and the U.N. are led by Hans Blix, chief U.N. weapons inspector since March 2000. In 1998, inspectors left after being stymied by the Iraqi government, and Iraq has not permitted them to reenter. The talks are intended to establish practical details for the return of inspectors, including where will they stay, the location of their headquarters and how their security will be guaranteed. On Thursday, Blix is to report his findings to the Security Council. Blix has said he assumes no locations will be out of bounds, that a tougher new U.N. resolution will not, for instance, exempt “presidential sites,” as the last resolution did.

The question now is just how tough the new resolution will be. The U.S. and Britain have demanded, in a draft resolution, proven Iraqi compliance with unfettered inspections on a timetable of 30 days. Nothing should be excepted, they say, especially Hussein’s presidential palaces, where intelligence analysts believe the weapons the regime most wants to conceal are stored. The talks on a resolution have bogged down as the Russians and French balk at what they see as excessively tough language. Although the administration should be ready to compromise on its timeline and wording, it should not budge on the principle of unhindered inspections.

Capitol Hill, when it comes to compromise, is another matter. The administration wants to make it crystal clear that if the U.N. doesn’t come through, the U.S. will launch its own attack on Iraq. However, the language of the proposed resolution is too sweeping, giving the president carte blanche for “regime change” just about anywhere.

The administration has indicated that it will pull back from such language, but lawmakers should make sure the presidency isn’t transformed into a global James Bond 007, license unlimited.

The U.S. and its allies should ignore Iraqi sleight of hand and get an inspection resolution passed. Nothing else would do as much to test Hussein’s own willingness to save his nation from war.