January 20, 2003	Monday	Ziqa'ad 16, 1423

LARNACA-LONDON-NEW YORK: Evidence of a deep split between the United Nations, America and Britain over the timetable for war against Saddam Hussein emerged on Saturday as UN officials made it clear that a vital 27 January report by its weapons inspectors was only a “progress report”, rather than a trigger for military action.

The comments contradict Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, who told a German newspaper this weekend that there would be evidence of a clear breach by the end of the month.

With Downing Street becoming increasingly bullish that the UN inspection team, under the control of Hans Blix, will find the evidence needed for military action, UN officials said there was a danger of some countries “misunderstanding” the situation.

A spokesman for the weapons inspectors said: “There seems to be a misunderstanding. On 27 January Unmovic [the inspection team] and the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) is required to give an update, not a final report, since it will mark 60 days since the inspections began.” He made clear that the inspection teams were prepared to continue their work in Iraq for a considerable time.

Tony Blair has also been warned by senior Cabinet colleagues that a prolonged war in Iraq will lead to growing tensions in Britain between ethnic minority groups and extremists trying to exploit military action to whip up anti-Islamic feeling.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is thought to have told the Prime Minister that “inter-communal violence” could spread if military action is taken and then becomes bogged down.

America is becoming increasingly frustrated at signals that the UN inspections could go on indefinitely, with Unmovic now preparing for reports up until the end of March.

US officials have made it clear that they will try to foil further reports and say that an accumulation of evidence of military activity in Iraq will be enough for Saddam to be in material breach.

Downing Street figures said that a second UN resolution on military action was “not a necessity” and that, if the breach was clear enough, military action could be taken without further reference to the UN.

Officials believe that there could be “a large nuclear find” in the near future, making action inevitable. “What we will make clear is that there will be no half-measures,” said one Number 10 official.

On Saturday it was revealed that the first suspicious nuclear documentation had been taken from an Iraqi scientist, relating to a process called laser enrichment.

UN inspectors went to the Baghdad home of physicist, Faleh Hassan, on Thursday and removed a number of documents, which the scientist said were from his private research and from doctoral theses of his students.

Mohamed El Baradei, head of the IAEA, said it was too early to tell what the documents were and that he would get details when he and Blix travel to Baghdad tomorrow.

“We know it has something to do with laser enrichment,” he said, referring to a technique for using lasers to enrich uranium. “We don’t know whether it is something they have told us about or not. Our people are still going through it.”

On Saturday, Blix attacked Baghdad’s failure to cooperate with the UN inspectors seeking evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Blix, who arrived at the Cyprus headquarters of the inspection team, said he would impress on Iraqi officials the “seriousness” of failing to co-operate with his inspectors.

“There has been prompt access,” he said. “There has been access everywhere. That is fine. But on substance there has not been sufficient co-operation. We need to have sincere and genuine co-operation.”

Blix said that, during the two-day visit, Saddam would be confronted with big gaps in the 12,000-page weapons declaration Iraq submitted to the United Nations in December.

Asked how much time the UN weapons inspectors needed to complete their job, Blix said: “If we have sincere and full co-operation, then it could be fast. In 1991, everyone expected it would take a few months for the declaration on their part and the destruction of whatever weapons there were.

“Now, 12 years later, we are still uncertain whether they have weapons of mass destruction.

“We are not closing the dossier because there are too many gaps in it and the world would like to be assured that Iraq is rid of weapons of mass destruction and, until we, the inspectors, have been convinced of that, we cannot send a report to the Security Council.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.