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Ritter in Baghdad without Annan's knowledge-report LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.N. arms chief Richard Butler did not inform Secretary-General Kofi Annan that he was dispatching Scott Ritter at the head of 50 inspectors to Baghdad, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper said on Friday. Quoting ``different sources'' at the United Nations, the Arabic-language daily said Butler's decision to send Ritter was aimed at testing Iraq's commitment to an arms inspection deal signed with Annan last month. It said Annan had urged Butler not to rush into decisions, but to test Iraq's compliance first by inspecting ``presidential sites.'' It said Butler did not tell Annan he was sending Ritter ``although the two men had lunch a day before Butler told the Iraqi government that the inspectors team was on its way to Iraq.'' ``Is Butler's choice of American Scott Ritter, whom the Iraqi government has repeatedly objected to, a confirmation of the authority of the special commission (disarming Iraq)...or is it aimed at sparking a crisis to torpedo the agreement between the secretary-general and the Iraqi government?'' Al-Hayat quoted a diplomat at the U.N. as saying. Ritter, branded a U.S. spy by Iraqi officials and vilified by the government in January, arrived in Baghdad on Thursday, leading around 50 U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) inspectors. His visit is the first test of Iraq's pledge last month to give the inspectors unrestricted access under an accord which also lets them, accompanied by diplomats, into controversial ``presidential sites'' where UNSCOM believes Iraq may have hidden material related to prohibited arms. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html