Iraq: Deadline to Declare Weapons of Mass Destruction is December 8

According to reports, Iraq has informed a senior UN official regarding disarmament that it will declare whether it possesses weapons of mass destruction by the deadline set by the UN, which is December 8. Amer al-Saadi, a close advisor to Saddam Hussein, stated today in Baghdad that Iraq will comply with the Security Council's disarmament deadline. This Iraqi official made the remarks following a meeting with Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that Iraq has promised to declare all it possesses related to weapons of mass destruction before December 8. Mr. ElBaradei, along with Hans Blix, the head of UN weapons inspectors, is in Baghdad with a group of 30 people, having met with Iraqi officials today after a four-year hiatus to plan for the search for weapons of mass destruction. The United States has threatened military action against Iraq if it does not cooperate with the weapons inspectors. Additionally, UN weapons inspectors, who are searching for prohibited weapons of mass destruction, inspected two military industrial sites in Iraq on Saturday. The inspectors did not disclose their findings to the journalists accompanying them. According to a spokesperson for the UN, the inspection at one weapons site was announced to the Iraqis 24 hours before the inspectors' arrival. The UN spokesperson added that this prior warning was not given by the UN. The UN weapons inspectors, who have returned to Iraq after a four-year break, are searching for biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. The inspectors reported that the first two days of their inspections have been calm and without problems.