Baghdad Outsmarted (for Now)

Washington appears to have won the latest game of its long-running chess match against Iraq. Following Baghdad's refusal to cooperate with U.N. arms inspectors, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to abandon biannual reviews of its Iraq sanctions program. "Washington wanted to end the six-month review," says TIME correspondent Douglas Waller, "because it always gave the Iraqis an opportunity to rally support and put the U.S. in a difficult position." There will be now be no further review until Iraq complies with arms inspections.

The vote reinforces a strategic shift in the U.S. approach toward dealing with Saddam Hussein. "Because the U.S. can't get Security Council support for armed action, Washington is moving away from pursuing intrusive weapons inspections, which raise the possibility of military confrontation," says Waller. "The U.S. goal is now to maintain sanctions as long as possible, because it was unrealistic to expect the inspection regime to root out every last weapon." Blocking weapons inspections had, over the past year, created crises that Baghdad had used to deepen divisions in the U.N. and weaken its resolve to maintain sanctions. Denied that option, the only way for Iraq to get back in the game may be to welcome back the weapons inspectors it had so vigorously opposed.