Draft okayed, trust still a long way

The diplomats, who have followed every twist and turn in the Iraqi confrontation with the West say that only extraordinary cooperation on the part of Baghdad will save Iraq from a US-led attack.

‘‘Now that Iraq has accepted the UN resolution the immediate threat of war has disappeared for the moment but the danger is far from over,’’ said a Western diplomat.

‘‘There is a complicated journey ahead.’’ Some ordinary Iraqis, weary of conflict, greeted the news of Saddam’s acceptance of the resolution with relief but also with lingering apprehension.

‘‘I feel good that we said yes and averted war which would have hurt us all, but I don’t believe it’s over. It might push the spectre of war back by one or two months but the Americans are still planning to strike,’’ said Haidar Hamzeh, 23, a student. ‘‘I’m not optimistic. America’s record is not reassuring. When it focuses on a target it does not let go. This is a temporary truce, a tranquiliser,’’ he added.

The UN resolution gives Baghdad one last chance to disarm and paves the way for weapons inspectors to return after a four-year absence. It was hard on Thursday to find any Iraqis who said they believed the US would change heart even if Iraq complied fully with disarmament conditions. They insist Washington has a motive beyond the doomsday weapons — to seize Iraq’s vast oil reserves.

‘‘We should not have accepted. The US wants to wage war whether Iraq accepted or not. It’s aim is not to search for biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. Its aim is to attack Iraq for its oil,’’ said Abdel-Azim Hussein, 51, a shopkeeper.

‘‘Iraq will always be in danger because it has something that America wants — oil. The countries that have no oil are safe with America,’’ said Ibrahim Khalaf, 39, who owns a shoe shop in downtown Baghdad.

Almost all Iraqis said their President made the concession to avert bloodshed and further devastation in Iraq, reeling after 12 years of economic sanctions that have destroyed its once-prosperous economy and torn the fabric of society.

‘‘The leadership has gone all the way to strip America of any pretext to carry out a military attack but we don’t expect the US to get off our backs. They will provoke Iraq,’’ Khalaf said. (Reuters)