Report warns: 'Cosmetic' measures
by U.N. won't stop Saddam

LONDON — A leading strategic institute warns that the West must insist on tough measures to contain Iraq's missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, in the latest strategic review, said the West has few options in dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In a report issued on Wednesday, the institute said the West must oppose what it termed cosmetic weapons control by the United Nations.

The institute released its report as the United States — supported by Britain — submitted its policy of smart sanctions to the UN Security Council. The institute's recommendations resemble closely the outline of the new policy of the Bush administration. The Security Council is scheduled to convene on June 4 to discuss the future of UN sanctions.

The institute said the West must insist on tough, intrusive inspections of Baghdad's suspected weapons of mass destruction capabilities. At the same time, the institute urged that the West lift United Nations sanctions on Iraqi commercial imports, eliminate civil flight restrictions and refine the use of force.

The report said the sanctions regime on dual-use and military goods as well as a renewal of UN weapons inspections remains the only option to stop Saddam's WMD programs. This, despite the prospect of leaks in the sanctions regime.

"Removal looks unlikely – Saddam is as strong internally as he has ever been," the report said. "Rehabilitation is unacceptable if it means a Saddam free to develop weapons of mass destruction and rebuild his armed forces.

Yet containment will be increasingly less effective unless it commands approval as well as authority. To achieve that, it is clear that the current instruments of containment need to be recalibrated."

Other measures recommended by the institute include blocking the assets of members of the Saddam regime, controlling the smuggling of weapons components into Iraq, and bolstering efforts to reduce Iraqi oil smuggling. The report also proposed that Britain and the United States suspend the the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

The proposed sanctions regime would continue to control Iraqi finances. On Thursday, a UN panel distributed $760 million in funds relating to Iraqi's invasion of Kuwait. More than $600 million went to Kuwait.

Moreover, the report said, both Western allies should warn Saddam that they would attack his regime if he builds weapons of mass destruction or attacks his people or neighbors. "A continued, robust sanctions regime that keeps military components, offensive technology and WMD precursors out of Iraq, and money out the hands of regime members, is essential," the report said.