BBC Baghdad Correspondent Rageh Omaar: "No end in sight to dispute" (3'11'')

As Iraq steps up preparations for a possible military confrontation, the chief UN arms inspector is visiting Baghdad for talks about the weapons inspection crisis.

Iraq has declared a holy war against UN sanctions which were imposed after it invaded Kuwait in 1990. It said it expects one million people to volunteer for military training.

UN envoy Richard Butler is attempting to hold together the weapons inspection programme that Iraq has blocked and threatened to terminate.

Butler: a tough mission

Speaking in Bahrain Mr Butler said he was "deeply concerned" about the inspections process.

"I have a message to convey from the Security Council to the Iraqis. I hope that they (Iraqis) will commit themselves to the past cooperation with UN inspection teams," he said.

Mr Butler will meet for talks with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and plans to report to the UN Security Council next week.

Breaking the deadlock

One of the main issues Mr Butler will address is the composition of the inspection teams.

Iraq says one million men and women are ready to fighht

Iraq has insisted that they are too heavily dominated by American inspectors. As a result they say they have no faith in the impartiality of the inspectors.

They want the teams to include a larger number of experts from other countries, particularly Security Council members China, Russia and France, which Baghdad believes are less hostile towards it.

The UN maintains that inspectors are chosen on the basis of competence and not nationality.

Also up for discussion is the unresolved question of access for UN weapons inspectors to presidential palaces of the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Albright: Saddam "digging himself in a deeper hole"

Iraq has said they will never be allowed into those sites.

Holy war

The US has dismissed Iraq's declaration of a jihad or holy war against the UN sanctions. It was announced vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, who said Iraq had little to gain from working with the UN.

The US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Saddam Hussein was digging himself into a deeper hole and sanctions would remain in place until Iraq came clean on its weapons of mass destruction.

Last week Iraq barred an American-led team of UN inspectors from searching for weapons of mass destruction. President Saddam Hussein has warned he might completely halt the work of the UN inspectors, if seven-year sanctions on Iraq were not lifted.
 

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