Raid finds details of weapons programme

The Times (U.K.) ^ | 04/17/03 | Stephen Farrell

[Pokey78]

AN anonymous three-storey villa in Baghdad may provide key secrets to Iraq’s suspected programme to produce weapons of mass destruction.

Even as US soldiers raided a home yesterday which may be that of Rihab Taha, the British-educated bioweapons expert known as Dr Germ, an office visited by her five miles away appears to have been a liaison office between the Iraqi regime and the UN weapons inspectors.

It is here, in more than a dozen rooms over the three spacious floors, that The Times saw documents, CDs and data files containing huge amounts of information that will prove invaluable for experts investigating Iraq’s suspected chemical and biological weapons programme.

The discreet yellow house in Baghdad’s affluent al-Jadriya suburb appears innocuous from the outside, but, shuttered and empty, it has clearly been abandoned in a hurry. Iraqi neighbours, who appeared highly nervous of being identified by Iraqi or US officials, said the villa had numerous visitors before it was abandoned, probably late last month.

One official confirmed that he had seen Dr Taha use it but it is unclear whether the villa was one also visited and used by the UN.

Two huge Italian-manufactured shredders remain. The building was occupied until at least March 6, the date found on a bulky Unmovic working document “Unresolved Disarmament Issues — Iraq’s proscribed weapons programme.” Another draft of a letter to Dr Hans Blix is dated later, on March 17.

Dr Taha is an Iraqi microbiologist who came to Britain to continue her studies at East Anglia University in the late 1970s. She was one of the officials given the task of presenting Iraq’s capabilities to Rolf Ekeus, head of the UN inspection effort until 1997. Although he was convinced she was lying about how little they produced it was a French inspector, Annick Paul-Henriot, who exposed her duplicity by uncovering the amount of “growth media” ordered by Iraq to create suspected huge anthrax stocks. She later married General Amer Rashid, the man suspected at one stage of heading Iraq’s programme of weapons of mass destruction.

Inside the offices the bundles of CDs and computer printouts — in Arabic and English — are highly technical and relate to anthrax, sarin and VX nerve gas. They appear to be part of Iraq’s efforts to persuade the UN that it had either destroyed or disposed of its suspected stockpiles of both substances, but are so highly detailed and technical that to the layman’s eye they contain no smoking gun.

One document refers to the “Production of Crude VX at Dhiaa plant”. Others refer to the al-Hakam facility south of Baghdad, where Dr Taha was in charge.

Another is the early draft of a letter to the chief weapons inspector Dr Blix. Bearing the name of the President’s adviser, Dr Amir al-Saadi — although not signed by him — it goes into immense detail about the quantities of a substance known as choline in the soil at a site known as Qasir al-Ashiq, near Samarra.

The building also contains unpublished draft reports by the UN weapons inspectors, but it is unclear whether they were supplied to the Iraqis, leaked to them or obtained by other means.

A US Marine spokesman yesterday explained the reasons for raiding Dr Taha’s house. “She was a chemical engineer, she worked directly for the regime, she was on the wanted list,” said Major Michael Purcell, operations officer for the US Marines 1st Tank Battalion. He said US experts were reviewing materials found there.

[Lazamataz]

This is to the amazingly lamebrained leftists who insist (STILL) that the US was wrong to invade Iraq.

PING!

[Gritty]

The Leftists won't buy this.

Their minds are made up already.

[anniegetyourgun]

One document refers to the “Production of Crude VX at Dhiaa plant”.

I don't think there is a 'dual use' for VX, is there?

[MizSterious]

Are you indexing this sort of thing?

[Steven W.]

Sure, they give it to PLO terrorists whom they train at their camps, along with French "Rhome" pesticies, to ensure that Iraqi trained terrorists keep their caves and other domiciles bug-free.

[backhoe]

I added it to the Dark Underbelly. And the last mass email or two- it should get seen.

[Shermy]

She later married General Amer Rashid, the man suspected at one stage of heading Iraq’s programme of weapons of mass destruction.

A match made in hell.

[EllaMinnow]

A "well, well, what do we have here?" ping.

[MEG33]

One day I was using insecticide in a hose sprayer pointing it up under the eaves at a lake cabin where it seemed every wasp and spider in the woods had made a home.I got wet in the process.I didn't shower there but went home and suddenly became ill..weak kneed,sick at my stomach and dizzy.Imagine what full dose would do.

[TheLooseThread]

I'm missing the significance of this.

Aren't these just the same documents that were turned over to the UN? If so, we have them already.

[Dolphy]

I am taking each of these articles in stride, not knowing what they individually mean to confirming WMD. But something that doesn't seem to require any interpretation is Leventhal explaining what was in the bag of one of the people apprehended during a Baghdad raid yesterday. They found a gas mask...now why would that be?

[PA Engineer]

The building also contains unpublished draft reports by the UN weapons inspectors, but it is unclear whether they were supplied to the Iraqis, leaked to them or obtained by other means.

Interesting.

[Bob Eimiller]

Minds?... What minds. Liberals don't have minds..they think like single celled invertebrates, nothing but basic autonomic nervice systems to keep them breathing. in-ver-te-brate 1. Not vertebrate; lacking backbone or spinal column.N. one who lacks firmness or character. perfect description ..don't you agree?

[johnb838]

No smoking gu-un... No smoking gu-un! (Imagine whiny sing-song)

[not-an-ostrich]

And again it is the press finding these documents and not U.S. authorities. Tomorrow it will be gutted. Doesn't the Bush administration have any SpecOps, CIA operatives or Special Forces in Iraq? If so what are they doing?

[MEG33]

That's a big leap you just made.

[GailA]

The Useless Nation is frequently mentioned in this article.

[whadizit]

What makes me mad is THESE DEVILS GOT AWAY!! They had time to shred everything impt!