Weapons Chief Alert For Iraqi Deception

Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix promises his search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction will be "correct and effective," but he concedes Baghdad may deceive U.N officials again.

In his first U.S. interview since the U.N. gave him sweeping new powers to inspect Iraqi weapons, Blix tells CBS News Correspondent Steve Kroft that the new powers cannot make people tell the truth who were deceptive the last time inspectors entered Iraq.

"[The Iraqis] certainly did not give accurate answers to the questions they should answer. It could happen again," says the Swedish dipomat on the eve of his departure for Iraq.

The interview will be broadcast Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes."

Blix says he can't guarantee if all of his 280 weapons inspectors from various countries will not undermine the effort by tipping off the Iraqis. "I can never have 100 percent guarantees that no one will not be someone who worked for a state [as an intelligence agent]... If I discover that ... then I'll fire the person."

Blix told reporters Friday that Iraq must take responsibility for declaring all of its weapons programs to the U.N.

"Iraq's declaration is a very important document that we hope they take very seriously," Blix said. The declaration, laid out in the U.N. resolution adopted unanimously Nov. 8 by the Security Council, will be compared with previous data inspectors have on Iraq.

Inspections may begin Nov. 27, Blix said. The deadline for the Iraqi declaration is Dec. 8.

Blix said that if Iraq were to declare, as it has maintained throughout the recent crisis, that it has no weapons of mass destruction, countries that claim to have evidence must make it public.

"I think the United States government is determined that there should be no cat-and-mouse play," Blix said.

The United States believes Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been illegally rearming for several years. Inspectors, barred from Iraq since December 1998, have not been able to verify either claim.

Blix said inspectors would consider the potential Nov. 27 start date of inspections as their first day of work under the terms of the resolution, which calls for him to report his findings to the Security Council 60 days later.

Blix will stop in Paris on Saturday to meet French officials and will arrive in Cyprus on Sunday before heading to Baghdad on Monday with Mohamed ElBaradei, his counterpart at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A small advance team will join the two chief inspectors to prepare the inspection process. Blix said the team would reopen the office used by the previous inspections regime and would set up secure phone lines, prepare transportation and order helicopters.

The U.N. resolution gives Saddam "a final opportunity" to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them. It gives inspectors the right to go anywhere at anytime and warns Iraq it will face "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate.

The Security Council imposed economic sanctions after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait that cannot be lifted until U.N. weapons inspectors verify that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq accepted the resolution Wednesday, while insisting Iraq it has no such weapons.

U.S. officials were dismissive. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States was "prepared and concerned'' about the possibility Iraq could launch chemical or biological attacks against U.S. troops or sponsor a terrorist attack in America if the United States takes military action to disarm Saddam.

In Baghdad, Saddam's government told Iraqis Friday they must welcome the new U.N. inspections to spare the country from harm, but also warned the war-wary nation to prepare for the worst.

"If the evil people want to attack us, we are up to it," Muslim cleric Abdul-Ghafour al-Qaissi warned in a sermon broadcast nationally by state television.

At the same time, the government made clear that it is unhappy with the resolution, which was approved unanimously by the 15-member Security Council.

Al-Thawra daily, the voice of Saddam's ruling Baath party, said it "could be the worst resolution ever issued against our country'' and amounted to a "breach of the U.N. Charter."

That message was repeated Friday during a sermon by Abdul-Ghafour al-Qaissi in Baghdad's Mother of All Battles Mosque.

"Iraq agreed to this resolution to inform the world that Iraq is devoid of any weapons, and weapons factories," al-Qaissi said. His remarks were approved by the Ministry of Endowments.

"Those who declared that Iraq has weapons are American spies who have no conscience. Iraq's door has been opened but the inspectors have to follow their consciences. We made this concession to prove that we have no weapons. If the evil people want to attack us, we are up to it."

Al-Qaissi asked God "to strengthen us, to give us victory."

"We've been living with these unfair resolutions for years," he added. "We have no idea when this crisis will be over."