Following are Reeker's remarks on UN weapons inspections in Iraq, from the October 2 State Department briefing.

QUESTION: I wanted to switch to the UN and see if you can give us any update on how the resolution is moving. The text has been released to most news organizations by now and I wonder if that's an indication that you're pretty confident that this will be similar to the final form of the resolution, if you're making progress on that.

MR. REEKER: I don't think I can add too much to what Secretary Powell said when he spoke to you, or to many of you, last night. We're continuing to discuss elements of a resolution in New York with our Security Council partners and at the ministerial level. No text has been formally tabled as of yet. The Secretary reiterated, and we continue to state quite clearly, that a new resolution must give UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency the strongest possible authority to conduct inspections. As the Secretary said, we're not going to be satisfied by Iraqi half-truths or Iraqi compromises or Iraqi efforts to get us back in the same position we have been in before, back where they had the United Nations in 1998.

There have to be consequences for continued Iraqi non-compliance. We have been down this road before. We need to provide Dr. Blix and his team with a new, well-paved road, paved by a new resolution that is one that will help them to carry out fully the mandate that they will have from the UN Security Council. That is what we're working on -- a strong, tough resolution -- not what Iraq wants, but what the international community wants, what the UN Security Council wants, and what the international community needs to ensure that Iraq is free of the weapons of mass destruction we know they have pursued.

So I think as the Secretary underscored, we have to reiterate once again that UNMOVIC cannot simply go back under the former terms of reference. You know, Iraq has used sites, so-called presidential sites or presidential palaces, to hide weapons of mass destruction-related equipment and information, and I think it is important to just point out and remind many of you what these so-called presidential palaces or presidential sites are. These are gigantic facilities, extremely well-guarded, unknown, underground networks with unknown equipment and unknown activities. We have shown you in the past pictures of some of these facilities like the Radwaniyyah presidential site that's located just west of downtown Baghdad. It's been continually expanded since 1998. It measures approximately 17 square kilometers, which is 40 times larger than the White House grounds here in Washington, just to give you an idea of the perspective.

It's completely fence-secured, heavily guarded by Saddam Hussein's internal security forces. It houses over a 150 individual structures, including VIP villas and palaces, security housing and checkpoints. What's Saddam hiding? I mean, as long as anything is off limits, then Saddam is hiding things. And an inspection regime that does not include thorough access, full, complete access to these facilities and others could not be considered to be thorough and effective inspections.

QUESTION: The agreement that Hans Blix reached yesterday with the Iraqis that he announced has some kind of advance team or pre-inspection team going in within the next few weeks. Has the Bush Administration given any thought to what it might do to stop inspectors from going in until the Security Council reaches a resolution?

MR. REEKER: I think, first and foremost, as the Secretary said, we look forward to hearing from Dr. Blix, himself, who will be briefing the Security Council tomorrow. As I said, we feel very strongly that he needs to be in receipt of new guidance and instructions in the form of a new, tough resolution so that we don't go down the same old road, but in fact we're on a new, solid road.

So that's what we'll look forward to in terms of tomorrow and the Security Council hearing from Dr. Blix.

QUESTION: But as you know with previous resolutions on Iraq or any resolution at the Security Council, it does take a lot of debate and lot of to and fro between the Council before these resolutions are passed. So as a Permanent Member of the Security Council, does the United States plan any action to prevent the inspectors from going in until the resolution is passed?

MR. REEKER: As you indicated, Elise, and as the Secretary answered that same question last night --

QUESTION: Well, he actually didn't.

MR. REEKER: -- we are a member of the Security Council, a Permanent Member of the Security Council. Our position is that inspectors simply cannot go back in under the former terms of reference. I've made quite clear already why that's unacceptable and we will not get into negotiating a situation with the Iraqis under these old terms. As I said, we've been down that road.

What is needed now is decisive action by the Security Council on a new resolution. The Security Council has a responsibility to all of us to ensure that Iraq lives up to its obligations. And so that is what we'll be focused on.

QUESTION: If I could try one more time, I know you said that you're a Permanent Member or that you're a member of the Council and that you think that he should have a new resolution, but what are you going to do as a member of the Council to make sure that your position and your insistence is carried through?

MR. REEKER: We are going to continue consulting with our Security Council colleagues. We are going to hear from Dr. Blix when he reports to the Security Council tomorrow. And we're going to continue working on the goal of a new resolution that's tough, that meets the needs, that provides Dr. Blix with the type of direction he needs to carry out his mission thoroughly and not be bamboozled yet again by the to-ing and fro-ing of Saddam Hussein and his various deceptions.

Yes, Barry.

QUESTION: You don't mean Dr. Blix was bamboozled; he was prevented from carrying out --

MR. REEKER: Iraq and Saddam Hussein have continued to try to do that to the entire international community -- bamboozle and, you know, play games with the Security Council, with all of us. If Iraq wanted to be serious about this, they would open up, they would allow complete access of these inspectors. That is what is called for and that is what we need in a new resolution.

QUESTION: May I ask you to follow up? I have the same basic line of questioning in mind. His intention, evidently, was to move inspectors into Bahrain on the 17th and send them into Iraq on the 19th, and of course we all realize symbolism is important in this area, as it is in other parts of the world. But the US did not object to arrangements; the US seemed to object to -- seems to want to defer any re-inspection until the Council gives new instructions.

Is there a US position on whether it's all right to have inspectors go to Bahrain and to be ready to move in?

MR. REEKER: I think, Barry, we will wait and hear what Dr. Blix has to say when he reports to the Security Council. The Secretary has addressed these questions broadly last night. I can't really add anything to that. We need to hear from Dr. Blix, hear what his report is to the Security Council, as we continue working with our Security Council colleagues on a new resolution to provide Dr. Blix with a thorough mandate, a forceful resolution that will give him the full mandate that he needs to carry out this job.

Elaine.

QUESTION: I wanted to just follow up on something you said earlier. I can remember being shown photographs in this room of various huge palaces in Iraq and so on, but I don't remember being shown photographs of weapons of mass destruction there. Can you tell us how you know that they're there and what evidence you have?

MR. REEKER: I think, Elaine, what we have said is any time these places are not available, or put sort of out of bounds or off limits, then Saddam is hiding things. We don't necessarily know what he's hiding in these things. And indeed, we have shown you photographs of these so-called palaces. We're not talking Sleeping Beauty here. We're talking massive structures, gigantic facilities, extremely well-guarded. What's he hiding?

If he's serious. If he means to comply with UN Security Council resolutions, to which he agreed, then he will open these things up. He hasn't in the past. We've played this game and we're not going to play it any more. We need a serious resolution that opens everything -- anytime, anyplace, anywhere. That's what Dr. Blix and his team need and without access to these facilities, I don't think you could consider effective and thorough inspections that would take place.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up, then? So you're not saying that you have evidence that there are weapons of mass destruction --

MR. REEKER: I am not going to share with you intelligence information at this point. I am saying there are facilities such as these so-called palaces -- this is a situation, a subject, that has been brought up in much of the reporting and discussion that these places are out of bounds, somehow Saddam can declare presidential properties, these vast places -- I think there were eight declared sites back in 1998 -- and that is unacceptable.

What is he hiding in them? That is the question. It is up to Saddam to answer that question, not up to me to answer that question, or anybody else.