To the Point

Will Showdown at the UN Lead to Showdown in Iraq?

The weapons inspectors have given the UN Security Council a mixed report. There has been progress in disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, but much still remains to be done-and Iraq-s cooperation is still needed. Once again, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented the US reaction, emphasizing not the progress cited by the inspectors, but their report that Iraq has not yet fully complied with UN resolutions. France, Russia and China say that means inspections must continue. The US and Britain say it proves the need for military action. We hear the voices of Security Council members and talk about what comes next with journalists from France, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia, an expert on national security and a former UN weapons inspector. Making News: Hans Blix Presents his Report to the UN Security Council Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix told the UN Security Council this morning that there has been progress, but that Iraq still has not been fully cooperative. On the issue of nuclear weapons, the same message was repeated by Mohamed AlBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Peter Grier, Washington editor for the Christian Science Monitor, is following the story from New York. Reporter's Notebook: The Example of South African Disarmament Part of the -progress- cited by weapons inspectors was a plan for experts from South Africa, the only nation to have unilaterally dismantled its nuclear weapons, to advise Iraq on disarmament. South Africa-s disarmament took place after Nelson Mandela was elected to replace the long-time white, apartheid government. Dr. Greg Mills is national director of the South African Institute of International Affairs.