| American Spies Yield To Blix Over Weapons
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Posted on 12/21/2002 4:23:50 PM PST by blam
American spies yield to Blix over weapons
By David Usborne in New York
22 December 2002
Hans Blix, the United Nations' chief weapons inspector, was preparing this weekend to begin a new, more invasive phase in the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, making use of intelligence from Washington and London, and new military hardware ranging from helicopters to flying drones.
The stepped-up effort, involving more than 100 inspectors in Iraq, will be in stark contrast to the inspections of the past few weeks, which have been short of manpower and equipment.
If the past weeks have been a dress rehearsal for Mr Blix, his work in the month ahead will be the real thing that may finally determine whether or not there is war in Iraq.
After weeks of hesitation, Washington has now indicated readiness to start feeding Mr Blix, and his opposite number at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El Baradei, its own intelligence on where Saddam Hussein may be storing prohibited armaments.
London is also expected to make its own intelligence available to the inspectors.
US officials hinted that some of the information, mostly gleaned from satellites, may be transmitted to the UN and IAEA in instalments. Mr Blix had made an appeal for access to American and British intelligence on Friday, arguing that it would facilitate findingany hidden stockpiles of banned chemical, biological and nuclear materials.
Reportedly, Washington had been concerned that Mr Blix's UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic)would be unable to ensure information did not leak to the Iraqis.
But yesterday Ari Fleischer, a White House spokesman, said: "It is entirely in the interests of the United States ... to give the inspectors the tools they need to do their job, and we will do so."
Nuclear experts yesterday re-visited al-Nassr al-Atheem Company, an engineering plant at Daura refinery, south of Baghdad. Other inspectors searched al-Raya Company, owned by Iraq's military industrialisation commission.
Plans for reinforcing the inspections were partially spelled out by Mr Blix during a closed meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday. He said that while most inspections had so far been done overland, with teams using Jeeps, they would soon be partially airborne. Seven more helicopters, besides the existing one, would be ready for use by the end of the week. Mr Blix is also procuring aeroplanes and unmanned drone aircraft to conduct low-level aerial surveillance across Iraq.
The number of inspectors is also being increased; about 100 are expected to be fully operational by 31 December, and training of more inspectors starts in January. The Unmovic HQ in Baghdad will be expanded in the next few weeks, and a regional base will open in Mosul. Mr Blix also expects to interview Iraqi scientists on the alleged weapons programmes.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Mr Blix will respond to Washington's urging to try to remove some scientists from Iraq to interview them beyond the gaze of Saddam's government.
| American Spies Yield To Blix Over Weapons
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I don't care to know any details of this stuff; having had security clearance in the past, I know what "need to know" means. Probably most of those wanting to see the evidence have not ever had a security clearance. Plus, whether they know or not will have zero bearing of the operation. Perhaps in a few months or years, after it has all become history there will be books and we can read and discuss at leasure. But seeing a data dump scroll across the CNN news-screen won't help or enlighten anyone.
Yes. Just read the next edition.
Yeah, not to mention that now Saddam has his "tools of the American aggressors" handouts already printed up.
10-4. "The public has a right to know" doesn't mean much in this case, does it?
I expect that any scientist who leaves Iraq will not have family to come back to. To ensure silence Saddam has no doubt sent word that wives, children, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, etc. of any scientist who leaves will be imprisioned and/or executed. If the immediate family gets to leave with the scientist, no doubt those that remain behind will suffer the fate.
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Oh, the mighty Blix. Our spies bow before him. We meekly offer our lowly satellite photos to the towering leader, in hopes that His Majesty will now get off his duff and find the damned stuff, now that we've told him where it is.