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U.N. Maps Saddam's Palaces

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A U.N. technical team sent to map eight "presidential" sites at the center of Iraq's dispute with the United Nations completed its work Wednesday, the Iraqi News Agency [INA] reported.

INA said the team would submit its report to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is due in Baghdad Friday on a last-ditch mission to avert a U.S.-led military strike to force Iraq to give U.N. weapons inspectors full access to the sites.

A U.N. spokesman would not comment on the outcome of the mission, but said Annan had asked the team to stay on in Baghdad until he arrives.

Iraq has said it will work to make Annan's peace effort a success, but has offered no new concessions ahead of his trip.

"We look at it [Annan's visit] as a positive step, not as a last chance," Saad Kassem Hamoudi, chairman of the Arab and international committee of the Iraqi National Assembly [parliamen], told reporters. "We must take more time for this diplomatic approach...Why put a deadline for military action?"

Meanwhile, a CBS News poll released Wednesday says that more than three out of four Americans favor bombing targets in Iraq to ensure that Iraq is not developing weapons of mass destruction, and a majority would even favor bombing without support from allies like France and Russia. But only 35% of the public is ready for immediate action. A majority would prefer to have the U.S. wait for more diplomatic efforts.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan heads to Iraq on Friday on a diplomatic mission that American officials have characterized as one of Baghdad's last chances to avert a military strike. CBS News White House correspondent Scott Pelley reports that President Clinton has warned Annan that compromise on the issue of U.N. weapons inspections will lead to war rather than peace. CBS News has also learned that in a phone call to Annan, Clinton warned that a compromise might affect U.S. relations with the U.N.

©1998 CBS Worldwide Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

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