Iraq agreed in principle Thursday to destroy its Al Samoud 2 missiles, two days before a U.N. deadline. Word of the agreement came as chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Baghdad's disarmament efforts had been "very limited so far."
The mixed signals were likely to provide ammunition to supporters and opponents of a quick war to disarm Iraq. The two sides failed to reach agreement on key issues during a heated and bitter discussion in the Security Council on Thursday.
The council debate came as the U.S. military buildup for war exceeded 200,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region on Thursday.

In a letter to Blix on Thursday, Iraq agreed "in principle" to destroy its Al Samoud 2 missiles, which were found to have a
range exceeding the 93-mile limit set by the Security Council at the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

But it wasn't immediately clear whether Iraq's letter, obtained by AP, constituted an unconditional acceptance and whether Iraq would meet the Saturday deadline to begin the destruction, as Blix has ordered.

Iraq asked Blix to dispatch a technical team to discuss the "framework and timetable" for carrying out the order, but Blix's deputy was already in Baghdad to oversee the destruction. The letter was delivered three days after Saddam indicated in an interview with CBS anchor Dan Rather that he would not destroy the missiles because in his view they do not exceed the 93-mile limit.

Blix told reporters earlier this week that the missile issue would be a key test of Iraq's cooperation with a U.N. order to disarm.

A Demoralizing Debate At the UN Security Council

At the United Nations, diplomats said privately that the lack of consensus and tone of the debate Thursday were demoralizing, but many held out hope for compromise among the council's five major powers. The United States and Britain are pushing a resolution that would open the door for war, while Russia, China and France are calling for continued weapons inspections and a diplomatic end to the crisis.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Yingfan said he, too, hoped for a compromise that could unify the council "but I could see it's very difficult."

A senior U.S. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, hinted there may be some room wiggle room in the resolution, which the United States, Britain and Spain submitted on Monday.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, whose country is the strongest U.S. ally, said: "I would love to see a compromise."

But there were no signs of agreement at Thursday's four-hour meeting, held behind closed-doors.

Chile's U.N. Ambassador Gabriel Valdes protested that the bitterly divided permanent council members were "throwing the decision on the shoulders of the elected members" by refusing to compromise.

At the end of the session, French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the majority of the council still opposed the draft resolution and that he pushed the French proposal for additional time for inspections, which resumed in Iraq this past November after a four-year break.

In Beijing earlier Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and his Chinese counterpart, Tang Jiaxuan, said weapons inspections have made progress and should be given more time.

Council Invites Blix to Discuss 17-page Report

Blix was invited to discuss his 17-page report detailing the work of his staff in Iraq over the past three months. The report was submitted to the United Nations Wednesday and will be sent to council ambassadors on Friday.

In a key section of the report, a draft copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Blix says Saddam could have made greater efforts "to find remaining proscribed items or credible evidence showing the absence of such items."

While Blix has noted some recent Iraqi cooperation, he lamented in his report: "It is hard to understand why a number of the measures which are now being taken could not have been initiated earlier."

He stressed that Iraq's cooperation "must be immediate, unconditional and active," warning that without such cooperation verifying the country's disarmament "will be problematic." He made clear he was not satisfied with the level of cooperation.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

*_ The U.S. military buildup for war topped 200,000 troops in the Gulf region. President Bush called anew for Saddam Hussein's "total, complete disarmament" and defended his father for stopping short of ousting the Iraqi president in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

*_ U.S. intelligence has detected the movement of some elite Iraqi army troops into new positions. In recent days, trucks have been sent to the north to pick up members of Saddam's Republican Guard and reposition them around his hometown of Tikrit, defense officials said.

*_ Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Bush spoke by telephone and pledged to continue consultations on Iraq, the Kremlin said.

*_ Turkey's ruling party delayed a crucial vote on allowing in more than 60,000 U.S. combat troops as the government failed to persuade its lawmakers to back the deployment.

*_ An estimated 100,000 chanting protesters crammed Cairo's main stadium in Egypt's largest demonstration against the U.S. threats of war against Iraq.

*_ South African disarmament experts visiting Iraq said they are convinced Baghdad is doing its best to disarm.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi officials conduct a static test on an Al-Samoud 2 missile at the Rafah military facility, west of Baghdad February 23, 2003. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters) - Feb 27 1