Thomas Daschle: “His first comment on the overall agreement says that the agreement: . . . gave expression to a fundamental commitment…”

“His first comment on the overall agreement says that the agreement: . . . gave expression to a fundamental commitment that is set forth in the resolutions of the Security Council, mainly that UNSCOM must have immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to all sites in Iraq for the purpose of carrying out its mandate. The memorandum of understanding at high political level reaffirms and reiterates that commitment. In other words, what Chairman Butler has said is that his highest priority is to assure that we have this unrestricted, unfettered access to all sites in Iraq. Having now examined the details of the memorandum of understanding incorporated within the agreement, Chairman Butler concludes that the commitment is intact. With regard to the UNSCOM role in the context of the agreement, he said: I view it [the agreement] as strengthening UNSCOM in the conduct of its work in Iraq. With regard to UNSCOM's access to presidential sites, he noted: The arrangements that are made for that access, set forth principally in paragraph 4 of the memorandum of understanding, have been the subject of some misunderstanding and, regrettably, some misrepresentation. I want to make clear that those arrangements are entirely satisfactory to me and the organization that I lead.…”