VOL. XLI

No. 08

23 February 1998

The Political Scene

With the arrival of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Baghdad on 20 February, theendgame in the confrontation between Iraq and the US has begun - and the prospects for apeaceful resolution of the crisis are not good, since the Americans are restricting Mr.Annan's room for maneuver and threatening to ignore any solution which does not meet theirstringent standards. Regionally, opposition to military action appears to be growing aszero hour...