Posted on 12/07/2002 2:28:39 AM PST by kattracks
"3. Decides that, in order to begin to comply with its disarmament obligations, in addition to submitting the required biannual declarations, the Government of Iraq shall provide to UNMOVIC, the IAEA, and the Council, not later than 30 days from the date of this resolution, a currently accurate, full, and complete declaration of all aspects of its programmes to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other delivery systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles and dispersal systems designed for use on aircraft, including any holdings and precise locations of such weapons, components, sub-components, stocks of agents, and related material and equipment, the locations and work of its research, development and production facilities, as well as all other chemical, biological, and nuclear programmes, including any which it claims are for purposes not related to weapon production or material;"
Hans Blix has no authority to keep the declaration from the Council.
In other words - "We are not going to ask any questions of someone who would be privy to information on Saddam's weapons capacities."
Secrets to be excised from Iraq report
12/07/2002
UNITED NATIONS - Iraq on Saturday will hand over more than 10,000 pages detailing its chemical, biological and nuclear programs, including sensitive material that will not be shared with the United States or other governments, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said.
The United States and other U.N. Security Council members decided Friday that the material - which could include "recipes" for chemical and biological weapons - should be kept secret even from the council itself lest it fall into the wrong hands.
As a result, inspectors plan to weed out the sensitive details as well as translate the Arabic sections before giving the declaration to the council, U.N. officials said. The declaration is expected to be delivered to inspectors in Baghdad on Saturday at 8 p.m. (11 a.m. Dallas time) and then couriered to U.N. headquarters in New York on Sunday, the deadline for its arrival.
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The declaration is a crucial requirement that Iraq must meet, and Security Council members and weapons experts will be combing it to assess whether Baghdad is telling the truth. Omissions or false statements, coupled with any Iraqi failure to cooperate with weapons inspectors, could trigger war.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri said the report would reflect Iraq's long-standing contentions that it is free of weapons of mass destruction, although it will also contain some "new elements," which he did not disclose.
Bush administration officials are sure Iraq has such weapons, and on Thursday the White House said "solid evidence" would be turned over to U.N. inspectors.
On Friday, the White House said it wanted the U.N. weapons inspection team to aggressively court Iraqi scientists with promises of safety and asylum in exchange for evidence against Saddam Hussein's weapons programs.
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"We take the issue very seriously and attach great importance to it. We hope the international community would also attach the same importance to the issue," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.
But Dr. Blix, the 74-year-old Swede who heads the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, was unmoved.
"We are not going to abduct anybody, and we're not serving as a defection agency," he said.
Under the latest Security Council resolution, Iraq must submit an "accurate, full, and complete declaration" of its chemical, biological and nuclear programs. Iraqi officials last month complained about the scope of this demand, saying it would even cover petrochemical industry production of plastic sandals.
Iraqi officials have called a news conference Saturday morning in Baghdad to discuss the report, which Mr. Al-Douri said would contain "a huge amount of information." Several diplomats said they were told the declaration weighs about 130 pounds.
The material, which may include computer disks, will cover the 1991-98 history of U.N. weapons and equipment destruction and "new elements" relating to dual-use sites and activities.
Dr. Blix had called on the Iraqis to examine their "stocks and stores" before declaring they had no prohibited weapons left. But Mr. Al-Douri was adamant Friday that Iraq no longer had any.
"We said again and again that we have no more destruction weapons at all. Everything has been destroyed, and we have no intention to do that again," the Iraqi envoy said. "If the Americans have this evidence, they have to tell the inspectors in Iraq to go find this evidence."
Meanwhile, U.S. and U.N. officials cautioned that the Iraqi declaration would take time to translate and analyze.
A U.S. official in Washington told The Associated Press that the declaration would be distributed first to the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China, the permanent Security Council members, and then to the 10 other members.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the process could take about a week.
The inspectors hope the Iraqis at least will help them answer some open questions by supplying convincing documentation on the fate of 550 artillery shells filled with poisonous mustard gas. Iraqi and U.N. accounts contain many such discrepancies from the 1990s.
That is an understatement!!
What use is the report?
None. What use is the UN??
Koffee Anus takes his marching orders from the Muslim Brotherhood, and their terrorist buddies. The UN was always a bad idea and this proves it.
Hope GWB has a good plan, otherwise we will have to tell the UN to jump in the Atlantic Ocean. I can just see Colin Powell taking on that project ... NOT!
He isn't in Iraq. Never has been.
Kind of strange, he sends underlings to Iraq but stays as far away from Iraq personally as possible.
Now what could possibly be the reason for that?
a.cricket
The UN never DID have any usefulness, and Sweden has outlived its usefulness. They no longer have any birth surplus, and Minnesota is already populated.
Lessee now--the UN inspectors have ALREADY FOUND artillery shells charged with mustard gas that had NOT been destroyed, so obviously "the Iraqi envoy" was lying or ignorant (or both).
Oh, the UN violates its own resolutions all the time.
It should be the first target in the war on terror.
THIS JUST IN: "Mr. Blix, lawyer to Saddam and the UN,
leader of Kofi's KlownsTM has no decided to imperiously withhold
the Iraqi documents, consistent with his repeated advance warnings
to the Iraqis before most of the "inspections".
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