Iraq softens tone on UN inspectors return

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 4 (UPI) -- An Iraqi newspaper reported Monday that Baghdad might agree on the return of U.N. inspectors of weapons of mass-destruction if their return is coupled with a limited timetable for lifting the decade-old embargo on Iraq.

The report by the mass circulation Babel newspaper, run by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, came as Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri prepared to travel to New York for talks Thursday with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Babel said Iraq's main reason for opposing the return of the international weapons inspectors was "the Americans want them to stay forever, implying the unjust siege would continue indefinitely."

"Had the U.S. administration and its tail, Britain, been serious and truthful in their claims, they would have set up a timetable for the inspectors' program that should be followed by a lifting of the siege," the paper said.

It contended that the United States was determined to attack Iraq regardless of the fate of the inspection team's mission because it needed the country's oil reserves.

The paper concluded by urging the U.S. administration to deal with Baghdad in a civilized way that ensures the interests of both parties, saying, "Iraq is bound to have the largest strategic oil reserves in the coming phase."

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