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Inspectors Find Undeclared Iraq Warheads
U.N. inspectors on Thursday found 11 empty chemical warheads in ``excellent'' condition at an ammunition storage area where they were inspecting bunkers built in the late 1990s, a U.N. spokesman reported. They had not previously been declared by Iraq. A 12th warhead, also of a 122 mm, was found that requires further evaluation, according to the statement by Hiro Ueki, the spokesman for U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad. ``It was a discovery. They were not declared,'' Ueki told The Associated Press. Oops, the UN inspectors screwed up and found something. Ueki was referring to Iraq's December declaration which was to be a full and final report on its doomsday weapons program and how they had been disposed of. The inspectors used portable x-ray equipment for a preliminary analysis of one of the warheads and collected samples for chemical testing, Ueki's statement said. ``The warheads were in excellent condition and were similar to ones imported by Iraq during the late 1980's,'' the statement said. The warheads were found during a visit by inspectors to the Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Baghdad. It was one of several sites inspectors checked on Thursday. Inspectors do not usually report specific discoveries, which made Thursday's announcement unusual. It means even they think its a big deal. It is up to the U.N. Security Council to determine whether Thursday's find would amount to a breach of U.N. resolutions. On Dec. 7, a chemical team secured a dozen artillery shells filled with mustard gas that had been inventoried by their predecessors in the 1990s. It was the first batch of weapons of mass destruction brought under their control in the new round of inspections in Iraq. Inspectors have said Iraq has failed to support its claims to have destroyed missiles, warheads and chemical agents. U.N. inspectors have said Iraq's final weapons declaration made in December failed to support its claims to have destroyed missiles, warheads and chemical agents such as VX nerve gas. Because maybe they didn't? Posted by: Steve 2003-01-16 |
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