FAIR correctly points out that many networks and newspapers have been reporting that in 1998 Iraq expelled United Nations weapons inspectors. In fact, after Iraq pretty much ended all cooperation with the inspectors in October of that year (there was a brief attempt in December 1998 at weapons inspections, but Iraq’s idea of full cooperation was much different than the UN’s), UNSCOM pulled out its inspectors in December 1998. This was done in part to protect UN workers against military strikes planned by the United States and Great Britain to punish Iraq for its noncompliance with UN Security Council resolutions.
This particular myth probably was started due to two reasons. First, in 1997 Iraq did expel American weapons inspectors claiming they were spies. Second, many news reports of the 1998 withdrawal contained vague language like “UN weapons inspectors today were ordered out of Iraq” which was probably misunderstood by reporters later as implying that the orders to leave the country came from Iraq rather than UNSCOM (though, there’s not much excuse for such sloppiness).
The withdrawal, however, was clearly Iraq’s fault. Beginning in July 1998, Iraq actively interfered with the weapons inspectors. At various points it refused to allow them to videotape inspections, refused to allow inspectors to photocopy incriminating documents they uncovered, and blocked access to facilities that weapons inspectors had every right to enter.