Monday, June 02, 2003
A WORD FROM MR. BLIX
In light of the WMD issue, here's an excerpt from FT
"The new report by Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, revealed that Baghdad supplied information on its illicit weapons programmes up to the eve of military hostilities. But, even at the end, Iraq failed to alleviate fundamental suspicions that it had something to hide.
Unmovic, the UN inspection commission, has continued to analyse data in spite of its sidelining from the weapons hunt. In its latest quarterly report, it said Iraq proffered information on unmanned aircraft and its claimed destruction of anthrax as late as 19 March, hours before the first air strikes.
But while "inspections, declarations and documents submitted by Iraq contributed to a better understanding of past weapons programmes, the long list of proscribed items unaccounted for was (not) shortened", the report says.
The report says new data on the Al Hakam dump site, where Iraq claimed to have disposed of anthrax, indicated traces of biological material "consistent with Iraqi declarations". But the analysis did not "provide a quantification of the anthrax dumped in 1991 with the necessary degree of certainty" and "does not resolve the question regarding the total quantity of anthrax produced and destroyed by Iraq".
¶ 8:57 PM
In light of the WMD issue, here's an excerpt from FT
"The new report by Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, revealed that Baghdad supplied information on its illicit weapons programmes up to the eve of military hostilities. But, even at the end, Iraq failed to alleviate fundamental suspicions that it had something to hide.
Unmovic, the UN inspection commission, has continued to analyse data in spite of its sidelining from the weapons hunt. In its latest quarterly report, it said Iraq proffered information on unmanned aircraft and its claimed destruction of anthrax as late as 19 March, hours before the first air strikes.
But while "inspections, declarations and documents submitted by Iraq contributed to a better understanding of past weapons programmes, the long list of proscribed items unaccounted for was (not) shortened", the report says.
The report says new data on the Al Hakam dump site, where Iraq claimed to have disposed of anthrax, indicated traces of biological material "consistent with Iraqi declarations". But the analysis did not "provide a quantification of the anthrax dumped in 1991 with the necessary degree of certainty" and "does not resolve the question regarding the total quantity of anthrax produced and destroyed by Iraq".
¶ 8:57 PM
