>I think you'll find that if you really look hard, you will find that Iraq did not kick the UN inspectors out. The were withdrawn on the orders of the head of the inspectors, Richard Butler, following a warning from the US Ambassador Peter Burleigh who told him it would be "prudent to take measure to ensure the safety & security of UNSCOM staff presently in Iraq". Richard Butler himself has emphasised this time & time again. If you really want to follow your thought through, it was the US who forced the removal of the inspectors & the UN sat back & did nothing.

I stand corrected. Technically, the UN withdrew the inspectors. Had Saddam cooperated, that would not have been necessary. It just continues to prove the point that Saddam has no intention of disarming.

>Much of the Iraqi objections to the weapons inspections at the time was related to the interference from US, British & Israeli intelligence services & the fact the some of the inspections were seen to be outside the remit of the inspections & solely for intelligence gathering puropses.

The lastest I heard from Tariq Aziz (?) of Iraq is that the missle the UN inspectors found to be out of compliance (a range greater than 93 miles) is not really out of compliance at all: he said that since it isn't accurate, it's not really out of compliance. How many times do you have to hear the Iraqis lie before you figure out they have no intention of disarming?