EU Minister Calls for UN Inspectors to Verify Weapons Finds

While U.S. and British forces continue to scour Iraq for any weapons of mass destruction (WOMD) that were hidden by Saddam Hussein's imploding regime, EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten has called for UN arms inspectors to return to Iraq to verify any atomic, biological or chemical (ABC) weapons found by coalition forces.

Speaking in an interview on Australian television on Sunday, Patten voiced concern that the verification of any WOMD that were found by British or American troops would be viewed with scepticism by the Arabic and Islamic world.

Arab world would believe UN

"Obviously it must be a worry that if things are simply found by the coalition which has been fighting the war, people in Arab countries, the Islamic world, will be less inclined to believe it than if it was done by the UN, " he said. "So I think there's an interest for everyone in getting the UN back at some stage to verify anything that's discovered."

Patten, who arrived in Australia last week for EU-Australia ministerial talks, said that there should be as much belief in the reports of inspectors as possible and that those from the United Nations, not those chosen from any one specific coalition country, could provide the most legitimacy to any discovery.

In the televised interview, the EU minister also offered his and the European Union's support to the plea made by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for a fresh Security Council mandate for the UN to play a role in post-war Iraq, including adequate resources to do its job. "In my view there's no question that having as much international legitimacy for a post-conflict situation as possible makes sense in everybody's interest," said Patten,

No "smoking gun" as yet

Coalition forces have yet to uncover any substantial evidence that Saddam Hussein did indeed have hidden caches of ABC weaponry, the main trigger for war on Iraq. The hunt for the "smoking gun" that would justify the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of its government is an integral part of winning over Arab states who see the campaign as an act of aggressive imperialism and a war for oil.

At the meeting of EU and Australian ministers, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he agreed with Patten on the need for UN arms verification. "I think it would obviously give more confidence to the international community if the UN was involved with the verification of discoveries of weapons of mass destruction."

Important for UN to return

Downer added that there were many issues in need of addressing by the UN Security Council before any arms inspectors could return to Iraq. "I don't think there's anybody saying that the UN inspectors should go back in at any time at all. However, I think it's very important that at some point they do return."

Australia provided Special Forces troops to the coalition advance on Baghdad and Downer concluded that coalition military forces would formally declare victory within the next few days.

Wording of victory statement being discussed

"There's just some tidying up going on in relation to the final proclamation," he said. "Obviously it has to be absolutely accurate legally. It also has to be a proclamation that strikes the right political tone, if you like, as well. So work is still being done on that." He said there had been discussions between the United States, Britain and Australia about the exact wording of the proclamation.