UNMOVIC head Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials are meeting with Iraqi representatives in Vienna to discuss the protocols for the impending inspections, currently scheduled to begin October 15th. The director of the IAEA, Mohammed El-Baradei, spoke of “progress.” The talks are being held under the old inspection rules, which include inspections of “presidential” locations by appointment only. The talks will end tomorrow, when the IAEA and UNMOVIC must wait for UN Security Council approval of the mission.
The BBC reports these talks being held in a “polite vaccuum,” since any action by Britain or the US could derail the scheduled inspections. The Beeb also included a handy list of items for discussion at the Vienna talks:
- Access to sites
- Visas for inspectors
- Baghdad HQ renovation
- New bases in north and south
- Communications
- Transport
- Overflight permission
The AP covered this a little more muscularly, saying that Blix has staked out a “tough position,” refusing to discuss political matters and focus exclusively on . The AP also has IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming laying down the law: “We’re looking for Iraqi cooperation here, but these are not political talks… We are not going to be negotiating here. We’re going to be laying on the table the requirements we’re going to have as inspectors.”
Nando Times is running another AP story, but with an absolutely priceless photo of Blix. This AP piece seems to frame the talks as an integral part of the activity at the UN, where other pieces treated it largely as a sideshow to be made irrelevant by the impending UN resolution drafted by the US and Britain.
a technology job is no excuse 