Annan's quick deal took many months to reach

A small, but significant gesture.

U.N. personnel normally must fly into a drab military airfield and drive more than an hour to Baghdad. By letting Annan use the closer international airport, the Iraqis were telegraphing that they had high hopes for the visit.

But success was not instant. In three days of negotiating, close aides said, Annan had to listen to long lists of Iraqi grievances, deciding which to answer and which to let pass in the interests of focusing on his immediate mission. A U.N. linguist had to offer draft after draft of a final agreement, looking for language booby traps. And U.N. officials discussed intently how Annan should handle his most critical meeting, with Saddam himself.

The mission began as Annan, dressed in a gray suit, stepped from his French government jet shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, Iraqi dignitaries and foreign diplomats were lined up to welcome him.

Annan said he was optimistic his mission would succeed. Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, standing next to him in an olive green uniform, said he shared "the secretary-general's optimism."

But like good poker players, the Iraqis were careful not to show their hands. Aziz met Annan and his party Friday night, but the session was mostly social.

Day two for Annan began at 7:30 a.m.

He rose early to begin preparing for his first formal session with the Iraqis. Russian envoy Viktor Posuvalyuk arrived at the pink stucco villa where Annan was staying to brief the secretary-general on his own marathon talks with the Iraqis.

As the two sat in red-cushioned chairs in a marble-floored salon, aides said Posuvalyuk believed Baghdad was ready for serious talks - already hinted at by Iraq's U.N. ambassador.

Shortly before 10 a.m., Annan and his eight-member delegation were driven to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry across the muddy Tigris River.

After handshakes for the cameras, Annan and Aziz left for a private room, where they remained for the next 90 minutes - the start of about 15 hours of diplomacy in which the U.N. chief would often negotiate alone.

While U.N. officials and Iraqi Cabinet members lounged on sofas or strolled aimlessly, Annan presented Aziz with a U.N. memorandum that outlined broad terms of a settlement.

After the lengthy private meeting, the two summoned other negotiators.

As the two delegations sat across a wooden table in a small paneled conference room, aides said Aziz railed on for about an hour detailing Iraq's complaints against the U.N. weapons inspection program.

Aziz, again wearing a green military uniform, complained the inspectors now wanted to wander through the president's private residences and rummage through his possessions - which no sovereign nation could tolerate.

Annan, a reserved figure who rarely raises his voice above a whisper, listened impassively. Envoys and foreign leaders familiar with the Iraqis advised him not to get bogged down in point-by-point rebuttals and to keep the discussions focused on major topics.

When his turn came to speak, Annan said that regardless of what the government thought of the inspection program, Security Council resolutions requiring Iraq to destroy its lethal weaponry must be respected.

He referred to the U.S. and British buildup in the Persian Gulf. "The military option is close to being exercised," aides quoted Annan as saying.

Annan also told Aziz that the two had to decide on something to tell the hundreds of journalists from all over the world who had gathered in Baghdad for the showdown.

Aziz suggested they describe the meeting as a "constructive dialogue." They adjourned at 1 p.m., and Annan told the reporters he was "rather optimistic" a deal could be reached.

At the secretary-general's villa, Annan and his aides talked over the morning session and concluded that Aziz's strong criticism of the inspection program did not mean the Iraqis were stonewalling.

The best way to push the negotiations forward, Annan told them, was to avoid allowing the talks to degenerate into mutual recriminations.

They met at 6 p.m. That session went better. Instead of polemics, the two sides went through the negotiating memorandum line by line - in English - marking areas of disagreement in brackets.

Once all those points were identified, the Iraqis suggested changes in the text. No agreement was reached yet, but the two sides understood one another better.

The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. for dinner. Aziz went to a meeting of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council to brief Saddam.

Back at Annan's villa, the chief U.N. legal officer, Hans Corell, made changes in the draft memorandum. An accomplished linguist fluent in several languages, Corell had to ensure the document's language was flexible enough to satisfy both sides but precise enough to prevent the Iraqis from reinterpreting the language if the agreement was signed.

At 10 p.m., the delegations returned to the Foreign Ministry. Most of the haggling was down to semantics - rearranging sentences, choosing different words. Corell would submit revision after revision until the two sides agreed.

The meeting broke up at 2 a.m. Annan still had to telephone leaders of the five permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

Clinton and his foreign policy team met periodically Saturday to keep updated on Annan's progress. The president even kept Defense Secretary William Cohen and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger at his side that night at a professional basketball game - to watch the Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards.

The delegations met again Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The Iraqis agreed to most of the language. Aides said the most contentious issue remained unresolved - Iraq's long-standing demand for a deadline for inspections of presidential palaces.

Annan's team had anticipated this would be the hardest issue for the Iraqis. Only one person, Saddam himself, could decide.

During strategy sessions, the U.N. team debated the best way to approach the issue, realizing it would be difficult for the Iraqi leader to be seen as backing down in the face of military force.

But if he did refuse to open the palaces, the consequences would be devastating. They decided the best way would be to appeal to his sense of honor: a great leader is one strong enough to take a bold step to save his people and the entire region from destruction.

02-24-98