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Saddam To Allow Palace Inspections U.N. Suspects Weapons Hidden; Some See It As Negotiation Ploy

Associated Press

Shifting tactics under heavy international pressure, Saddam Hussein said Wednesday he would allow visits to presidential palaces where U.N. weapons experts suspect he may be hiding chemical and biological weapons.

U.N. experts and diplomats will be invited to visit the palaces and other off-limits sites “for a period of one week or more, or for a month, so that they can find out the truth,” Saddam’s Revolution Command Council said.

It was not clear if Saddam would allow visits by U.N. inspectors themselves - or if all of the sites would be opened. The state-run Iraqi News Agency said the invitees will represent countries on the U.N. Security Council and on the U.N. weapons inspection team, but gave no other details.

While a spokesman for the U.N. weapons inspection team welcomed the Iraqi move, a top British official dismissed the offer as another negotiating gambit by Saddam.

Since U.N. inspections resumed Nov. 19, weapons experts have visited only factories, warehouses and other alleged weapons areas. They have not tried to enter Saddam’s many dozen palaces and other off-limits “sensitive sites,” where the U.N. teams believe Iraq is hiding documents, weapons and chemicals.

While it is not known exactly how many residences Saddam has, U.S. officials say between 43 and 50 have been built since the end of the 1991 Gulf War alone. Earlier this week, President Clinton mentioned the figure of 78 in all.

The decision to allow at least some of them to be visited was made at a meeting Wednesday of the Revolution Command Council, which is headed by Saddam, and the ruling Baath Party.

The invitation was “in response to the lies and fabrications of American officials and a response to American spies,” a statement issued by the Iraqi News Agency said.