Iraq Welcomes Spy Saga

Saddam Hussein must be enjoying this. Unnamed U.S. officials are reported to have confirmed Baghdad’s long-held accusation that Washington used UNSCOM for its own espionage purposes. The New York Times reported Thursday that U.S. agents used the cover provided by the U.N. weapons inspection team to collect independent intelligence -- a revelation that may be the final nail in the coffin of the already hobbled arms inspection system. Iraq seized on the revelations to claim vindication for its refusal to cooperate with UNSCOM, which touched off the recent military confrontation.

Mission-creep may have been inevitable in a U.N. operation that depended on the resources of member states for an international intelligence-gathering operation, but its exposure means that UNSCOM chief Richard Butler must be replaced if there is to be any chance for further American participation in the inspection teams. That of course may be academic -- since the air strikes, there’s been no sign that Baghdad plans to allow UNSCOM back into Iraq. Once again, early on Thursday, a U.S. fighter in the no-fly zone fired on an Iraqi jet after being illuminated by radar. No hits were reported.