Nation & world briefing Iraq resentfully agrees to new U.N. inspections Diego Ibarguen Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) WASHINGTON — With a U.S. gun to his head, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Wednesday ac cepted a U.N. demand to open his country to weapons inspections without conditions. Iraq’s U.N. ambassador delivered a rambling, angry nine-page letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan agree ing to abide by the tough inspection terms set last Friday when the U.N. Security Council voted 15-0 to order Iraq to submit to new inspections. The letter was signed by Iraqi For eign Minister Naji Sabri, but he clear ly was speaking for Hussein, who as dictator has total power. The letter denounced the U.N. ac tion as unjust, denied that Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction and at tacked the United States and Great Britain, the co-sponsors of the resolu tion, as liars. Nevertheless it conclud ed that “the important thing is trying to spare our people any harm” and said Iraq was “prepared to receivethe inspectors within the assigned timetable.” The Security Council had given Iraq until this Friday to respond. An extensive U.S. military buildup continues around Iraq. President Bush has made it clear that if Iraq does not disarm, he will unleash a U.S.-led mili tary coalition to invade the country. Iraq’s decision to accept Security Council Resolution 1441 clears the way for Monday’s arrival of chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix and Mo hamed ElBaradei, head of the Interna tional Atomic Energy Agency. Blix is to focus on chemical and biological weapons; ElBaradei is charged with in spectingfor nuclear weapons. Iraq’s letter got a cold reception at the White House. President Bush made no reference to it in comments he made at the start of an Oval Office meeting with Annan. Instead, he con gratulated the United Nations for last week’s unanimous Security Council action. Earlier Wednesday, after a meeting with his Cabinet officers, Bush repeated his near-daily call to Hussein to disarm or face the consequences. “We hope that he disarms. We hope that he will listen to the world. The world has spoken. ... If he chooses not to disarm, we will disarm him,” Bush said. “There’s no negotia tions with Mr. Saddam Hussein. Those days are long gone. And so are the days of deceit and denial. And now it’s up to him.” The next test comes Dec. 8, a dead line the U.N. resolution set for Iraq to submit a “currently accurate, full and complete” report of its military and civilian chemical, biological and nu clear programs and on other weapons systems, such as ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The resolution warns of “serious consequences” for failure to comply and says Iraq has been and remains in “material breach” of previous U.N. res olutions —- diplomatic parlance often used to authorize military force. €> 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Catholic bishops approve revised sex abuse policy Donna (jehrke-Wmte Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) MIAMI — U.S. Roman Catholic bishops Wednesday overwhelmingly approved revisions to their clergy sex ual abuse policy that would allow bish ops to conduct preliminary investiga tions in private and set up church tribunals to judge accused priests. In voting 246-7 for the policy, with six bishops abstaining, the bishops said the measures would still keep accused molesters away from children in the church. A priest found guilty of a single offense — even from years ago — still would be relieved of ministerial duties. “The new norms make very clear that sexual abuse and molestation by priests will not be tolerated by the Roman Catholic Church,” Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien said. Victims’ advocacy groups remained unconvinced. They noted the new charter calls for keeping preliminary investigations of accused priests confi dential, limits lay review boards to an advisory role, and requires accusers to file complaints by age 28. It is a real setback for the church as a whole,” said David Glohessy, na tional director of the Survivors Net work of those Abused by Priests. “It is going to deepen the divide between the bishops and their flock.” Especially troubling is the confi dential preliminary investigations, Glohessy said. “The secrecy is what got us into this mess.” The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, editor of the national Jesuit magazine America, was particularly critical of keeping the review boards’ work confidential. “If you are trying to restore credibility, you have to be open and transparent. ” Still, Reese said, the revisions do “have a clearer procedure for determin ing who is innocent and who is guilty.” When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Dallas in June, the group adopted a policy that said a priest accused of sexual mis conduct would be barred from any work connected to the church. The Vatican balked, saying accused priests deserved due process protec tion. Under the new charter, the bish ops would decide whether to remove a priest while the preliminary investiga tion is conducted. If the bishop deems the allegation credible, the accused priest would be put on leave, then go before a clerical tribunal. The Vatican must approve the new policy before it can become church law for the more than 190 Catholic dioce ses across the nation. Rome will likely approve it, as the revisions resulted from a committee of four U.S. bishops and four Vatican officials. “We are now much further along to a final conclusion to this terribly painful scandal,” Chicago Cardinal Francis George said. © 2002, The Miami Herald. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Friday, November 15 EMU Taylor Lounge, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year, Oregon's football teams won't just be competing for points ... they're out for blood. Students, staff, alumni, fans, and friends are invited to rol up their sleeves and donate to the local blood supply in the 1st Annual Civil War Blood Drive Rally. Stop by the EMU from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, November 15 to give blood in support of the Ducks. One FREE Civil War Blood Drive tee shirt will be given each hour of the campus blood drive. Questions? Call the Student Alumni Relations Board at 346-2107 or contact Lane Memorial Blood Bank at 484-9111. LANE MEMORIAL blood bank Sponsored by Lane Memorial Blood Bank and the University of Oregon Student Alumni Relations Board tf-riee kudk coniW, and d&uucoi to Uioie wdio <^uailj^. ■ 7670cTikflt§>t, &ucf£ne 344-94// 793Ai. jb