Despite Iraq's pledge Monday to grant United Nations arms inspectors unconditional access to suspected weapons sites, the international community should keep a watchful eye on Baghdad's next move, according to a U.S. expert on Middle East and Asia-Pacific security.
Richard Fairbanks, counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said in a recent interview in Tokyo that the United States will seek Tokyo's continued support for its actions, including a possible military strike on Iraq, as well as its diplomatic backing at the United Nations.
"This is the first stage of a play, not the conclusion," said the 61-year-old Fairbanks, who was chief U.S. negotiator for the Middle East peace process in the 1980s in the administration of President Ronald Reagan.