Posted 3:07 p.m. Nov. 11

by Marcus Mrowka
U-WIRE (DC BUREAU)

(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON–The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution with specific guidelines to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction last week, marking the latest step in President George W. Bush’s campaign against Saddam Hussein.

The resolution warned Hussein that he must stop his weapons programs or face “serious consequences” that would lead to a military conflict between the U.S. and Iraq.

The 15 to 0 vote was a clear victory for the Bush administration who spent over 8 weeks persuading the nations on the Security Council to support the resolution. The administration has spent countless hours trying to negotiate with the demands of countries on the Council including France and Russia while still calling for military action if Iraq does not obey the mandates listed in the resolution.

The administration was also victorious in persuading Syria to vote for the resolution. Syria, a neighboring Arab country of Iraq, had said it would not back the resolution up until the final minutes before the vote but was finally persuaded after being guaranteed by sources that the resolution would not give the U.S. a blank check to go to war with Iraq.

The resolution calls for the return of weapons inspectors back into Iraq to renew inspections that ended when they withdrew from the country in 1998. Under the new mandate, the inspectors have the authority to demand “immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access” to any site, including eight presidential compounds that they could inspection unexpectedly.

Iraq is required to confirm within seven days that it intends to comply. It also has 23 days to provide a “currently accurate, full and complete declaration” of the status of its civilian and military biological, chemical and nuclear programs.

The inspectors will have up to 45 days to begin their inspections, and 60 additional days to report to the council.

Although the resolution falls short of the level of military force that the United States initially sought, U.S. officials maintained that it gives the president the authority to strike Iraq if it does not disarm.

“One way or another . . . Iraq will be disarmed,” John D. Negroponte, the U.S.

ambassador to the United Nations told The Washington Post after the vote.

“This resolution doesn’t constrain any member state from acting to defend itself against the

threat posed by Iraq.”

The resolution has preserved the three main elements that the Bush administration initially sought; it finds Iraq in “material breach” of its disarmament requirements, defines Iraq’s obligations and threatens “serious consequences” if it fails to comply.

Countries like France and Russia, who are opposed to U.S. military action in Iraq, hope that the resolution will lessen the likelihood of war and will give the United Nations control over the situation instead of the United States.

Unconfirmed reports from senior Arab officials indicate that Hussein intends to comply with the resolution– possibly eliminating the threat of war between Iraq and the U.S.

Senior Bush administration officials remain skeptical on Hussein’s apparent embrace of the resolution though and have been urging the global community to keep support of the resolution strong.

Hussein has until Friday to respond to the U.N. resolution.