US Navy boards ships in hunt for Iraqi arms

The Sydney Morning Herald. ^ | February 21 2003 | The Guardian and agencies

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

US Navy boards ships in hunt for Iraqi arms

Date: February 21 2003

London: The United States Navy is boarding an average of six vessels a day as it steps up patrols in international waters searching for Iraqi weapons rumoured to have been hidden on ships or smuggled overseas.

Most of the operations have been in and around the Persian Gulf, where Western naval detachments are enforcing international sanctions against Iraq, ensuring there is no traffic in forbidden goods.

UNMOVIC, the United Nations agency searching for hidden chemical and biological weapons, said on that Wednesday there had been a steady stream of reports suggesting that Iraqi weapons had been smuggled abroad in recent months to countries such as Sudan and Syria.

The search for hidden weapons has taken the UN weapons inspectors to a wide range of sites. A team of inspectors showed up unexpectedly at the agriculture school of Tikrit University, 175 kilometres north of Baghdad, and gathered around a metal tank, examining and photographing it.

Peter Hinchliffe, a marine adviser at the International Chamber of Shipping, said steps were under way to design an internationally accepted tracking system to keep a closer watch
on vessels.

There was no evidence that ships carrying Iraqi missiles were concealed at sea, he said, but added: "The Indian Ocean is a very big place; it's not difficult to hide things there."

US naval patrols in the Gulf have yielded only minor discoveries of drugs and a handful of unauthorised guns.

David Osler, industrial editor of the maritime journal Lloyd's List, said: "It's becoming a bit of an embarrassment to them; they haven't really found anything."

The Guardian and agencies

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Keep boarding!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[goodnesswins]

Does this include those three ships that have been "wandering" in the Indian Ocean without national flags.....????

[prairiebreeze]

At yesterdays Pentagon briefing General Myers refused to comment on the story about those 3 silent ships. Whatever that implies.

[prairiebreeze]

**Iraqi weapons had been smuggled abroad in recent months to countries such as Sudan and Syria.**

These two should be next up on the hit parade in the search for Saddam's weapons.

Prairie

[RoseofTexas]

They probably DUMPED them by night in the sea after they got a wiff of our ships circling near by! Nothing to see here, MOVE ALONG!

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

These two should be next up on the hit parade in the search for Saddam's weapons.

They have to be made to realize that, once we are done with Saaddam, there will be plenty of Iraqi survivors whose only way of staying out of jail (or getting executed) will be to disclose whatever they know about the regime. In fairly short order, we're going to learn where all the bodies are buried, as well as all the weapons. If we learn that other countries have secretly hidden these weapons for Saddam, we will show them no mercy.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Right!

[dasboot]

Unauthorised guns?

Since when does the NAVY determine what weapons are authorised on the high seas? Unless they're enforcing prohibitions on behalf of countries, in whose territorial waters they patrol.

What , exactly , is up with this?

[roamincadillac]

Lets hope that Myers' refusal to comment means that they're on to something. Seems the news reports on those ships have gone silent too. What Blix and his flunkies are looking for might be floating around out there somewhere, waiting to be sunk. If anyone hears a blurb, please post immediately.

[Higgymonster]

He didn't refuse to comment. Myers and Rumsfeld looked at each other like "who makes up this stuff?"

Q: I want to ask General Myers if he could confirm a report that the U.S. and British governments are tracking some vessels believed to be carrying weapons of mass destruction. I guess the implication is these things were not found by inspectors because they were put out to sea before the inspectors arrived.

Myers: We have no -- I mean, nothing to confirm that at all.

Q: And with your maritime and leadership interdiction programs, you don't see anything like that?

Myers: No, I've not -- that story seems -- I mean, it just can't be confirmed.