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| Axis of Evil |
| Blix: Iraq violating U.N. arms ban |
| 2003-01-16 |
| U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Thursday Iraq had clearly violated a U.N. arms ban by importing illegal material that could be used to build nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Speaking after briefing senior EU officials, Blix said: "We have found things that have been illegally imported, even in 2001 and 2002. The question of whether they relate to weapons of mass destruction requires further inspection." Blix, who is due to brief French President Jacques Chirac and British premier Tony Blair Friday before traveling to Baghdad, said the message he was taking to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was that the situation is "very tense and very dangerous." On the eve of the 12th anniversary of the Gulf War that drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait, the United States has sent more than 100,000 troops to the region and Washington has made it abundantly clear it intends to use them if Baghdad does not comply with U.N. calls to disarm. Blix said patience with Iraq was running out and that the oil-rich country had to decide whether to cooperate more proactively with weapons inspectors or face the threat of a U.S.-led war. "We feel Iraq must do more than it has so far in order to make inspections a credible avenue. The other major avenue is in the form of armed action against Iraq," he said. "We are trying our best to make inspections effective so we can have a peaceful solution." The Swedish diplomat will present a report on his team's findings to the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 27. However, he attempted to dampen speculation this would automatically trigger an assault on Baghdad. "I don't think history will finish on Jan. 27," he said, adding the report was just an "update" and that further Security Council briefings were scheduled for February. Blix said that after two months, 130 U.N. inspectors were in Iraq, using eight helicopters and radar equipment to search for weapons of mass destruction. However, the chief investigator accused Iraqi authorities of preventing inspectors from interviewing 500 Iraqi scientists identified as having worked on weapons projects. "If Iraq is absolutely sure they have nothing to hide, it should ensure they are allowed to be interviewed without intimidation," Blix said. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana Thursday also stepped up the pressure on Baghdad to comply with U.N. resolutions or face military action. "It is not enough that Saddam Hussein's regime opens doors. It has to be much more proactive to convince the United Nations that it has disarmed its weapons of mass destruction," he told reporters after meeting Blix. Solana said a war with Iraq could be averted but "the responsibility is basically on the side of Saddam Hussein." Have Blix and the EU finally had enough of Saddam's games? One can only hope, the non-interviews with scientists may do it. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 Blix and company are diplomats. What diplomats do is talk. And talk and talk. Diplomats talk best when there is a whacking stick behind them. Behind these diplomats is a very nasty big stick. Diplomats like to believe they are important. The $64 question is when the diplomats will pretend to stand aside and let GW's stick do the talking. So they can take credit for everything. |
| Posted by: john 2003-01-16 19:56:51 |
| #7 It seems to me that we must keep the heat on the UN and their "inspectors". They will stall, equivocate, and do practically anything to get out of taking real responsibility. Take a look at the NKor refugee crisis. They do nothing. We need to take the big .AND. function of the Resolutions and keep it in their face and not let them off the hook. They will either do their job or they will get out of the way. A precident needs to be set so we either work together to solve a world-threating problem, or we move the deadwood aside and get it done ourselves. Boy, got a little wound-up there..... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-01-16 13:17:34 |
| #6 OT: That is very gracious of you, Fred, to allow guest bloggers. I wasn't aware of this. I will keep it in mind in the future. I read the resolution. All the requirements are joined by an "AND", which means failure of one condition is a material breach. This will be a second one, in addition to the inadequate declaration. Of course, in any battle between logic and politics (or logic and prejudice), logic usually loses. The US of A is the world leader because logic loses the fewest battles there. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-01-16 11:48:29 |
| #5 Cripes, it ALWAYS "requires further inspection." Inspector Clouseau would be happy to be inspecting Iraq for the next ten years. Isn't the import of these materials in 2001-02 sufficient "causus belli"? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-01-16 11:38:59 |
| #4 To John Bragg: To answer your questions: 1. The title of the blog entry always is a link to the original source. 2. Fred recently updated this site to allow "guest bloggers", although he will delete posts from spammers and trolls. I posted an entry just last week and was happy to receive several comments on my post. We are lucky indeed to have Steve as a guest blogger; he really knows his stuff! |
| Posted by: seafarious 2003-01-16 11:14:02 |
| #3 "the responsibility is basically on the side of Saddam Hussein." diplospeak for "turn on the green light"? |
| Posted by: john 2003-01-16 10:35:28 |
| #2 The title is hot linked to the original UPI article. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-01-16 10:11:53 |
| #1 Is there a media source on this? And has Rantburg always allowed anyone to post an article? |
| Posted by: John Bragg 2003-01-16 10:00:53 |