Defect to us, America tells Iraqi scientists

The United States has signalled that it will reward any Iraqi scientists coming forward with information about Saddam Hussein's clandestine weapons programmes with sanctuary for as long as he remains in power.

As Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, prepares to begin his sweep of Iraq for evidence of any prohibited weapons, officials in Washington said the key to tripping Saddam up may lie in tempting his own scientists to defect and reveal whatever he may be hiding.

Both Britain and the US have already given lists to Mr Blix of the sites their own intelligence services believe may be critical in unmasking Iraq's weapons capabilities. This intelligence sharing may prompt Baghdad to accuse him of being their puppet.

"The key to the next few months is getting a couple of good defectors," one official told The New York Times yesterday. Any information handed over by Iraq's own scientists would help Mr Blix assess the veracity of the full disclosure that Saddam must give of his weapons programmes within 30 days, as stipulated in the UN resolution passed on Friday.

Mr Blix indicated that he already had about 700 locations in his sights for early inspection, many of which had been visited by UN inspectors in the 1990s. But there were additional sites, he conceded, that had been brought to his attention by British intelligence.

"There are lots of places mentioned to us by your Prime Minister and intelligence," he told the BBC. "And there are lots of targets I will not tell you about." He insisted that he would not tolerate Iraqi tricks during the process. "This time there is no readiness to accept any cat-and-mouse play."