U.N. Chief Will Go To Baghdad

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will travel to Baghdad on a peace mission. The annoucement of Annan's trip to Iraq came amid feverish efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis through diplomacy.

Annan said he would arrive in Bagdhad on Friday for a mission that has the support of the United States and other Security Council members.

"It is my hope that we can achieve a diplomatic solution that will ensure the full implementation of all Security Council resolutions," Annan told reporters after meeting with the five permanent council members.

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson said Washington backs Annan's trip but retains the right to reject anything he negotiates.

"We wish him well but we reserve the right to disagree with the conclusion if the trip is not consistent with Security Council and our own national interest," Richardson said.

CBS News Washington correspondent Scott Pelley reports that American officials are warning that the U.S. will not be bound by any deal with Iraq that does not stipulate full, unfettered access to all presidential palaces.

Annan's peace initiative came on a day in which President Clinton made it clear that the U.S. is ready to launch a military strike against Iraq if necessary.

"We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program," Mr. Clinton said in a nationally televised address. "We want to reduce his capacity to threaten his neighbors."

In other gulf developments:

• In an address at the Pentagon, President Clinton said a peaceful solution in the U.S.-Iraq standoff is up to Saddam Hussein, and added that the military is ready to strike.
• Saddam Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council says it will work with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, if he travels to Baghdad "with an open mind and free will."
• Former President Jimmy Carter told CBS News that a U.S. attack on Iraq right now would be a mistake.
• Panicked Israelis are preparing for the worst. One quarter of the population has not yet received gas masks, and hardware stores are crowded with people scrambling for supplies to defend against chemical and bilogical weapons.
• The militant Palestinian Islamic group Hamas warned that Israelis will be targeted by the group's military wing if a U.S. attack against Iraq materializes.
• In an apparent reversal, Bahrain indicated Tuesday that it would not allow the U.S. to use its territory in any military action against Iraq. CBS News correspondent Tom Fenton reports that with the exception of Kuwait, no Arab state is currently willing to allow U.S. to stage an attack from its territory.
  

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