The New York Times reported ten days before the invasion that UN weapons inspectors in Iraq had discovered a new variety of rocket seemingly configured to strew bomblets filled with chemical or biological agents over large areas.1 The weapon was discovered after the UN inspectors returned to Iraq in November.
At first, Iraq told the inspectors that it was designed as a conventional cluster bomb, which would scatter explosive sub-munitions over its target, and not as a chemical weapon. A few days later, the Iraqis conceded that some of the weapons might have been configured as chemical weapons.
But it remains unclear, according to the UNMOVIC report, whether the Iraqi cluster warhead is a newly-developed one, devised during the absence of inspectors over the past four years, or whether its existence had been kept secret before 1998, when the inspectors left.2
In addition, the situation regarding anthrax stocks also remained unresolved.Despite receiving an updated report from Baghdad just before the war in Iraq began, UN inspectors continued to doubt that Iraq had destroyed all of its anthrax stores. In the report, Iraq tried to account for the destruction of 3,400 liters of anthrax agent at al-Hakam. A translation of the report from Arabic was completed recently and UNMOVIC experts have since reviewed the report.3
Citing data collected from soil samples, Iraq claimed it used a sufficient quantity of potassium manganate to neutralize all the anthrax at its al-Hakam facility. UNMOVIC spokesman Ewen Buchanan said commission experts were skeptical that the Iraqi report completely documented anthrax destruction activities.4
Even if the document were true, he said, Iraq had still not fully accounted for the remainder of the 8,445 liters of anthrax agent it had declared that it produced at two facilities and destroyed. Iraq previously had declared that some of the material had been loaded into aerial bombs and missile warheads.5
Three days before the war started, the Washington Post reported that despite US administration claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, US intelligence agencies had been unable to give Congress or the Pentagon specific information about the amounts of banned weapons or where they were hidden.6
Whether or not US or UK forces find chemical or biological weapons in Iraq over the next weeks or months, the data previously collected by UNMOVIC will be useful in a longer-term clarification of the situation."
Box 2:
What US inspectors are looking for:
Chemical Weapons:
80 tones of mustard gas unaccounted for by Iraq weaponized VX nerve agent-- UN says Iraq may have retained this stocks of tabun, sarin, cyclosarin-- UN disputes Iraq’s declaration on this
Biological weapons:
10,000 litres of anthrax-- “strong presumption” that this still exists according to the UN
3-11,000 litres of botulinum toxin--UN says Iraq failed to disprove figures of previous inspectors
Up to 5,600 litres of clostridium perfringens-- UN says Iraq failed to disprove figures of previous inspectors
Missiles:
86 Samoud 2 missiles which fly more than the permitted range of 150 km-- Out of 120 listed by UN, 34 have been destroyed
Scud and al-Hussein missiles system, plus 50 Scud-B warheads,-- UN says this “suggests” they may have been retained for “proscribed missile force”
Munitions: R-400 bombs, which can deliver chemical and biological weapons--(no comment from the UN on what's become of these).
Signs and indications, but no ‘smoking gun’
Despite frequent media reports that coalition military forces are finding ‘signs’ and ‘indications’ of chemical and biological weapons, usually turning out to be unspecified documents and possible dual-use equipment, to date no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons have been found.
Substantive evidence of a ‘smoking gun’ remains as elusive as ever.
As the coalition forces advanced increasing effort was devoted to locating CB weapons, but to no effect.
For example, an entire artillery brigade, typically comprising 3,000-5,000 soldiers, was retrained to secure and examine sites suspected of holding banned weapons. And the Pentagon offered rewards of up to $200,000 for help in finding Iraqi leaders or chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.14
www.basicint.org/iraqconflict/ Pubs/Web%20Notes/WN200603.pdf