AFAIC, there was reason to believe Iraq had bologicals, at least.
And, if what she said about Iraqi shenanigans at the labs is true, and I happen to think it is, Blix deserves all the ridicule heaped on him.
Thats my two cents, at any rate. Now the interview....
Former UN-inspector Gabriele Kraatz Wadsack on Iraqi weapons' potential
Berlin - A key factor in the discussion about a possible military strike against Iraq is Baghdad's potential for weapons of mass destruction. The microbiologist Gabriele Kraatz Wadsack, former inspector for the UN bio-weapon commission in Iraq and consultant for the topic of bio-terrorism at the Robert Cook Institute, regards the threat from Baghdad as very realistic. Sophie Mühlmann spoke with her.
DIE WELT: Does Iraq have something to hide?
Gabriele Kraatz Wadsack: In my assessment, yes. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any reason to not let the weapon's inspectors into the country.
DIE WELT: Dick Cheney talks about a deadly threat which emanates from Baghdad. Is he right about that?
Kraatz-Wadsack: Iraq first disclosed its bio-weapon program to the United Nations in 1995, rather than 1991 - and then not the entire scope of this program. Committees of International experts have found quite a number of discrepancies. They have come to the conclusion that one can't determine if the Iraqi bio-weapon program has ever ended.
DIE WELT: Which weapons does Saddam Hussein possess, to your knowledge?
Kraatz-Wadsack: The Iraqi government has disclosed to us that it has produced anthrax and neurotoxin in large quantities, that it has produced Aflatoxin, a mycotoxin which causes liver cancer. This had already been loaded into weapons, into rocket warheads and bombs. Furthermore, it had produced gas gangrene and the phytotoxin Rizin. Moreover, pathogens causing economic damage, for example, wheat rust agents. In addition, there was research and development work on various viruses. When you see the large scope of deadly and pathogenic agents, you realize how much know-how was behind it. The program was industrialized, open air tests and experiments with animals had been carried out. Iraq had produced huge amounts within a short time.
DIE WELT: And you suspect that all this is still in existence.
Kraatz-Wadsack: In any case, the expertise still exists. The scientists are there, the documents weren't submitted to us, weapons systems and production data haven't been completely explained.
DIE WELT: Are these exclusively Iraqi scientists, or has Baghdad had help from abroad with its bio-weapons program.
Kraatz-Wadsack: We have only been involved with Iraqi scientists. And the Iraqis, as far as its bio-weapons are concerned, have never claimed to have received help from abroad. Indeed, during the Gulf War there had been imports from foreign countries which didn't apparently seem to be related to a bio weapon program, though. Much is hidden in the industrial infrastructure, for example in facilities for vaccine production, which they then altered. In the bio-weapon area you can use everything in both a civilian as well as in a military scope, also. This isn't so simple to sort out.
DIE WELT: How are your experiences with the inspections? How do you track down bio-weapons?
Kraatz-Wadsack: As an inspector, you follow the information that Iraq supplies you with, you speak with scientists and look for clues yourself. Then you must verify the official information. You have to go to the facilities, analyze equipment technique, take samples from equipment and raw materials, install cameras and install sensors to determine how often the device is used. In addition, we had helicopter inspections and satellites, that is, a very intensive inspection regime - however, that depended upon Baghdad granting them access anytime, anywhere, without hindrance, to all facilities and information. And that was the handicap: Iraq didn't follow this UN mandate.
DIE WELT: How did it try to hinder on-site inspections, then?
Kraatz-Wadsack: Simple hindrance looks like this: You go to the facilities and the Iraqi representative says there aren't any keys. It's becomes a more extreme situation when Iraq says, we just won't let you into these facilities at all. Then a government representative has to travel there before you can continue. Delaying tactics. Then you have to deal in part with forged documents, or with fake representatives. You simply don't have access to correct information.
DIE WELT: So, you were most definitely lied to?
Kraatz-Wadsack: Yes.
DIE WELT: You have already been to Iraq for 26 inspection missions. How real do you assess the danger which emanates from Baghdad today?
Kraatz-Wadsack: Of course this is just speculation. But you can already assess the intention. We know that in the Gulf War Iraq launched rockets to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain which weren't loaded with unconventional weapon material. They have used chemical weapons in the Iraq Iran war and against the Kurds. Bio-weapons were the secret program and they have told us they want to have this as deterrence. In 1991 these weapons were deployable, however, they weren't used. They were already loaded onto rockets and bombs. The weapons systems have certainly been reduced for the most part, today, but of course you don't know what has gone on in the last three and a half years since the inspections have been interrupted. In any case, Iraq has the know-how and the potential.
Gabriele Kraatz Wadsack is a veterinary specialist in microbiology. She traveled to Iraq 26 times on inspection missions from 1995 until October 2001. She is now a consultant at the Robert Cook Institute in Berlin
"Die Welt"..August 30, 2002.."Der Irak hat Riesenmengen an Biowaffen produziert"
Translated by longjack