The move came with the expulsion of most of the Iraqi diplomats here.

"We don't want a cease-fire and then the fighting starts again in six weeks," an Iraqi diplomat said.

"There is a small light in the matter," the Iraqi diplomat said.

Iraqi diplomats are peddling that idea again - to increasingly receptive audiences.

And a second Iraqi diplomat, who is thought to have disappeared about two weeks ago, may also be trying to defect, other envoys say.

It also noted the expulsion of Iraqi diplomats from several countries.

Iraqi diplomats have said publicly in recent days that Iraq would use poison gas if it was attacked.

"Syria's strategy has always been to keep a balance of power in its favor," a senior Iraqi diplomat said.

Such a port, Iraqi diplomats say, would give their country a secure outlet to the gulf.

Two of the Iraqi diplomats, he said, were later permitted to stay.