CAIRO Ñ The Arab League has submitted 10 additional candidates for
inspectors of Iraq's nonconventional weapons programs.
The IAEA and the UN have been pressed to allow additional Arab nationals
as inspectors as part of an effort to ensure that Iraq is being treated
fairly. The two international organizations have said they will consider any
candidates on the basis of their expertise.
An Arab League official said seven of the 10 names submitted were
Algerian and Lebanese nationals, Middle East Newsline reported. He did not elaborate.
The Arab League relayed the names of 10 Arab nationals to the
International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Monitoring,
Verification and Inspection Commission
to serve as inspectors in Iraq. The nationals are said to be experts in
nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
The Arab League has urged Iraq to fulfill UN Security Council
resolutions in an effort to avoid any U.S.-led war against Iraq. The league
has also appealed to Baghdad to resolve the issue of those missing from
Kuwait since the 1990 Iraqi occupation.
