Blix denies cover-up after second unreported find (Lie Thru Teeth Alert)

Times Online ^ | March 11, 2003 | James Bone in New York and Roland Watson in Washington

[JustPiper]

[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

Does anyone have a specific 'tally sheet' with the unresolved Iraqi violations?

Blix's report is the list of unresolved Iraqi violations that Blix is willing to declassify at this time. That is 174 pages worth of violations (not including violations, Blixie may know about but refuses to declassify)

[Allan]

Bump

[LurkedLongEnough]

Blixie is somehow being ~threatened~ by Saddam & henchmen. How much would it take to persuade a Swede to "keep the peace"? Don't they give out the Nobel Peace Prize in Sweden?

[samuel_adams_us]

Good Ole Hans Blowsdix! What a loser and a liar, someone whom should be hung for treason by his own country.

[cake_crumb]

"(not including violations, Blixie may know about but refuses to declassify)"

But Blixie says he doesn't lie, and Blixie works for the defacto, socialist, world governing body. We know none of THEM would ever lie to us masses! </sarcasm>

[alancarp]

Don't they give out the Nobel Peace Prize in Sweden?

Oslo, Norway. But close enough: he real point is that the United States is the country being pushed around by the UN.

[browardchad]

Some observations on the semantics used by Blix in his speech, as opposed to the written UNMOVIC report -- based on only a small sampling of the two:

 

From the Blix March 7 verbal presentation to the Security Council:

 

As I noted on 14 Feburary, intelligence authorities have claimed that weapons of mass destruction are moved around Iraq by trucks and, in particular, that there are mobile production units for biological weapons. The Iraqi side states that such activities do not exist. Several inspections have taken place at declared and undeclared sites in relation to mobile production facilities. Food testing mobile laboratories and mobile workshops have been seen, as well as large containers with seed processing equipment. No evidence of proscribed activities has so far been found. Iraq is expected to assist in the development of credible ways to conduct random checks of ground transportation.

 

From the written UNMOVIC report of March 7:

 

Several governments have provided UNMOVIC with information relating to truck-mounted BW agent production facilities. The reports, which are reasonably consistent, refer to a series of three large articulated trucks that together comprise a complete, but small, biological factory. The reports indicate that one truck would carry fermenters, another the mixing and preparation tanks and the third, equipment to process and store the product. Several such mobile factories are said to exist and BW agent was reported to have been produced in them from 1998 to 2002, with some reports suggesting the production continues.

 

UNMOVIC has not had direct access to the originators of these reports, some of whom are persons claiming to have been directly involved in the design and manufacture of mobile laboratories in Iraq. In theory, such facilities are possible and, indeed, Iraq has acknowledged that in the late 1980's such facilities were seriously considered. Senior Iraqi officials informed UNSCOM that the concept was ultimately rejected because it was considered to be impractical.

 

The investigation of mobile factories is inherently difficult. Most of the transport of goods around Iraq is by truck and there are many thousands of vehicles in Iraq that potentially could be used. In any case, if such factories existed, they would not necessarily be on the roads of Iraq after the start of inspections in November 2002. Furthermore, such factories would be easy to dismantle and the components used for innocent purposes. Nevertheless, UNMOVIC has studied ways by which mobile facilities could be investigated and has conducted some initial inspections in this connection.

(snip)

 

This is an area where Iraq's active assistance and cooperation will be required.

 

Note Blix's speech is carefully crafted to imply that there is only one source of the info on mobile WMD facilities (the U.S. of course,  as in Powell's detailed description of the trucks, complete with graphics, on Feb. 14) with the use of the words "intelligence authorities have claimed." In the written report, we are told (in U.N. speak) that "several governments have provided" the information, and goes on to say that this information is "consistent," granting further legitimacy to the information.

 

Blix states in his speech that "Several inspections have taken place at declared and undeclared sites in relation to mobile production facilities" and, as a result, "No evidence of proscribed activities has so far been found."  (Piece of cake, end of story.) In the written UNMOVIC report, we are told that "The investigation of mobile factories is inherently difficult" and only "some initial inspections" have been conducted. Blix fails to mention in his speech, as the report clearly states, that "such factories would be easy to dismantle and the components used for innocent purposes," while Blix tells us that all the "several" inspections have revealed nothing but "food testing" and "seed processing equipment." (Nothing to see here, move along.)

 

Finally, and most insidiously, Blix carefully concludes in his speech that "Iraq is expected to assist" in working out a method to conduct "random checks," for mobile labs, implying -- in the careful use of the words "is expected" -- that Iraq has agreed to cooperate. The UNMOVIC report, however, clearly states that Iraq's "active assistance and cooperation will be required," implying that it is not now assisting or cooperating.

 

The speech was an impressive exercise in the use of semantics. It brings to mind another twisted mind who had particular skill in this area -- namely, the president who gave the world a whole new meaning for the word "is."

 

[LaGrone]

Blix is a liar, liar, pants on fire. We all know whose side he is on, and it isn't ours.

[Kay Soze]

Funny! HA HA HA!

Thank you !

[holden]

The long and the short of it is that it's been Powell's big mistake. I've not read an article or heard of this from any news outlet, but we're saddled with 75% of this crap which otherwise wouldn't be there if Powell had simply taken the following fork in the road:

When Iraq's declaration said, "We have no such weapons anywhere anymore," the job of inspector should have been switched to OFF!!! No ifs, ands, or buts. Through their declaration of nothing, Saddam told the UN, "There's nothing here to verify," But, we Powell (and Negroponte) let them hang around to be used by all our detractors.

HF

[Kay Soze]

The Machetes used by the Hutu's in Rwanda to hack to death 800,000 Tutsi also had a French slant to them.

[SouthernFreebird]

ROTL .......what a wit.

[syriacus]

Thanks for the information about the French and the machetes used in Rwanda.

From French Guns, Rwandan Blood by Frank Smyth The New York Times April 14, 1994

France has invested heavily in Francophone Africa and provides military and financial aid to a network of its own former colonies.....Of 21 French-speaking African regimes, most are dictatorships with scant respect for human rights.

[batter]

Thanks!