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UN experts find evidence of WMD
UN weapons experts have found 20 engines used in Iraq's banned Al Samoud 2 missiles in a Jordanian scrap yard, along with other equipment that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction.Acting chief UN inspector Demetrius Perricos disclosed the discovery today in a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council. According to the text of his presentation, Perricos said a similar missile engine had been found in a scrap yard in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, while a request had been made to Turkey, which has also received scrap metal from Iraq. The discoveries raise questions about the fate of material and equipment that could be used to produce biological and chemical weapons as well as banned long-range missiles. Perricos said UN inspectors do not how much material has been removed from Iraq since the war began in March 2003, and suggested the interim government may want to reconsider "the whole policy for the continued export of metal scrap" once it assumes power on June 30. "The only controls at the borders are for the weight of the scrap metal, and to check whether there are any explosive or radioactive materials within the scrap," he said, according to the text of his briefing. Afterwards, he told reporters that up to a thousand tons of scrap metal was leaving Iraq every day. Perricos told the council that UN experts visited "relevant scrap yards" in Jordan and discovered 20 SA-2 missile engines, which are used in Al Samoud 2 missiles. His report did not specify the condition of the engines, or whether they were damaged. The UN team also discovered some processing equipment with UN tags - which show it was being monitored - including chemical reactors, heat exchangers, and a solid propellant mixer bowl to make missile fuel, he said. It also discovered "a large number of other processing equipment without tags, in very good condition." The UN inspectors in Jordan were told that "brand new material like stainless steel and special alloy sheets" was being sent out of Iraq, he said. At today's closed council meeting, UN diplomats said many members expressed concern about items missile engines and other material that had been monitored by UN inspectors ending up in foreign scrap yards including Algeria, Brazil, Germany, France, Chile, Spain, Russia and China. Posted by: BigMutha 2004-06-10 |
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