To the Point

Can UN Weapons Inspectors Do Their job?

Saying that it-s -eager- to comply with Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq has announced that it will allow UN weapons inspectors back into the country. Some 260 inspectors, including several from the Arab world, have been through intensive training in Vienna. Many could be on their way to Iraq as soon as Monday, with the power to discover violations that could lead to war. Yet, evidence will be hard to find in a huge country whose officials know how to -cheat and retreat.- We get a journalist-s primer on preparations for inspectors and the challenges they face, then move on to post-inspection possibilities and military contingencies, with an Operation Desert Storm military analyst, a Reagan-era Defense Department official and a former inspector once held hostage for doing his job. Newsmaker: Iraq Accepts UN Resolution Despite yesterday-s unanimous disapproval by its parliament, Iraq-s government has sent the UN a letter agreeing to the resumption of weapons inspections. Iraq-s ambassador to the UN responded to reporters- questions by denying that his country has any weapons of mass destruction. Carola Hoyos, UN correspondent for Britain-s Financial Times, has the details and dangers of today-s announcement. Reporter's Notebook: Bin Laden Audiotape Raises New Questions Since September 11, there-s been speculation whether bin Laden is alive or dead. Now, experts reportedly have agreed that bin Laden made the recent audio tape being aired on Arabic-language TV station al-Jazeera. The tape threatens the US and its allies. Abdel Monem Said Aly, director of the El Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, reports on the tape-s impact in the Arab world.