UN maintains sanctions on Iraq as Security Council split grows

HAVING RECEIVED conflicting progress reports from the two organizations monitoring Iraq's UN-imposed disarmament, the UN Security Council on April 28 voted to maintain sanctions on Baghdad for an additional six months because of its failure to fully comply with its obligations.

Authored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), the reports paint contradictory pictures of Iraq's cooperation in eliminating its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile capabilities proscribed by the UN Security Council under the cease-fire resolution that ended the 1991 Gulf War.

Following the release of the biannual reports …