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| Iraq-Jordan |
| U.S. investigates Iraq nuclear theft |
| 2004-10-13 |
| By Betsy Pisik THE WASHINGTON TIMES October 13th, 2004 U.S. officials yesterday said they would look into a report that radioactive material and sophisticated equipment had disappeared from Iraq's nuclear power and research facilities, but expressed confidence that such dangerous materials are now secure. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, Mohamed El Baradei the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that whole buildings had suffered "systematic dismantlement" and that sensitive equipment previously subject to U.N. verification and monitoring had disappeared. U.S. officials at the United Nations and the State Department said Washington would investigate the charges, but expressed no urgency. "I think we share the general concern that some material might have gotten out into the market immediately after the war," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday. "But to the extent that all of us have been able to bring it under control, we have done that, and we have been able to — I think the Iraqis have been able to put in place the kind of monitoring safeguards and control systems that are necessary to prevent any further leakage." At the United Nations yesterday, Deputy U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson told reporters: "Obviously, we'll do a full investigation, working with the Iraqis." But other U.S. officials seemed eager to play down the two-page letter, saying they had not seen it before yesterday. The IAEA concerns surfaced only three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, in which the Iraq invasion and its justification have become issues. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |