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Annan: I was very upset by that because it is not my style to call anybody cowboys. Something very unprofessional happened. In the Security Council, I was asked why we set up a special regime for the palaces. In the explanation, I said the Iraqis tell us that some of the inspectors come in and behave like cowboys and throw their weight around. I have worked with the inspectors from Day One. I appointed Butler. I know the work they have done. They have destroyed more weapons than all the bombs did in Desert Storm. I have a great deal of respect for these men, who have done courageous work. I was reporting what the Iraqis said. Of course, the Iraqis have not been angels. They are difficult customers. But they have promised to behave themselves and cooperate, and we have said we will be sensitive to their concerns of dignity and sovereignty. The next few months will tell. This settlement is qualitatively different from previous ones in that this is the first one Saddam himself has negotiated. In regimes like that, the psychology really comes from the top.
TIME: What do you think of the reactions coming out of Congress?
Annan: I think it's unfortunate, because my sense is that they probably don't have all the facts. Some of the assessments have been hasty. I think it's only in the U.S. that we have this problem. Everywhere else, according to the reports coming from other capitals, everybody is relieved and very happy that we have avoided this tragedy. I don't really know what is driving some of the statements coming out of Washington.
I hope this agreement will hold, and we are going to test it. And I think it should become clear in the next three or six months whether this is really going to work. Of course, if Iraq were to break this agreement, I think that the attitude on the Security Council will be quite different and that it may be much easier for the U.S. to get a consensus to strike. And I think Iraq knows that too.
TIME: You spoke English, and he spoke Arabic?
Annan: Yes, and he had an interpreter. Unfortunately, I made a mistake. I should have had my interpreter too. But, anyway, we did get the result.