Jonathan Rhodes
20 January 2003
Today, Hans Blix announced that in his talks with the Iraqis in Baghdad that the Iraqis thus far had offered "three or four" of 11 specific documents requested by the U.N. delegation. He did not describe the material. The Swedish diplomat also disclosed that the Iraqis reported finding four more empty chemical warheads for 122mm artillery rockets, of a type that could carry such lethal agents as sarin.
This is supposed to represent progress on Iraqi "proactive cooperation."
What it actually represents is continued Iraqi delay and obfuscation. Saddam is presenting a ludicrous facade of cooperation in hopes of buying time and blunting US influence on the UN Security Council.
Four empty chemical warheads! Here is what Iraq had in 1998 and has not accounted for:
. Iraq has failed to account for 26,500 artillery rockets used for delivering nerve gas.
. Iraq has failed to account for 5,000 artillery shells filled with mustard gas.
. Iraq has failed to account for more than 3,000 tons of chemicals used for weapons.
. Iraq has failed to honor No Fly Zone restrictions by firing on coalition aircraft patrolling the area more than 250 times since September 2002.
. Iraq has failed to account for all of its weapons in its recent declaration to the United Nations Security Council. Omissions from the declaration include:
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Iraq did not account for, at a minimum, 216kg of biological agent growth media- enough to produce:
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• 26,000 liters of anthrax- 3 times the amount declared.
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• 1200 liters of botulinum toxin.
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• 5500 liters of clostridium perfrigens- 16 times the amount declared.
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Iraq has disclosed manufacturing new energetic fuels suited only to a class of missile that it does not admit to having.
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Iraq ignores efforts to procure uranium from Niger.
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Iraq failed to respond to UN Special Commission requests for more, credible, information about VX (nerve gas) production.
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Iraq has never adequately accounted for hundreds, possibly thousands of tons of chemical precursors.
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Iraq has failed to account for nearly 30,000 empty munitions that could be filled with chemical agents.
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Iraq provides no information about its mobile biological weapon agent facilities. Instead it calls them “refrigeration vehicles and food testing laboratories”.
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Iraq has upgraded chemical reactors and production equipment at Falluja II, one of Baghdad’s principal production plants for chemical weapons prior to the Gulf War. Falluja II and other facilities now produce more chlorine than is necessary for water treatment- evidence that chlorine is being diverted for military purposes.
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Iraq has started building a new test stand facility clearly intended to test long-range missile engines.
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Iraq has rebuilt a production facility for long-range solid fuel missiles that was dismantled by the UN.
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Iraq has openly praised the September 11th attacks.
"This game of hide-and-seek has got to stop and there's got to be complete, active, positive compliance by Iraq with the obligations imposed on Iraq by this Security Council under Resolution 1441," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as Britain announced it was sending 26,000 troops to the Persian Gulf in preparation for possible military action against Iraq.
At the UN Security Council, Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was Iraq's responsibility to comply with 1441 and avoid "serious consequences."
"All of the eyes of the world should be on what Iraq does. We cannot be shocked into impotence because we're afraid of the difficult choices ahead of us."
500 pound Iraqi aerial bombs filled with chemical warfare agent