Posted on 06/11/2004 1:17:07 PM PDT by freebilly
The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddam's missile and WMD program.
The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared.
UNMOVIC acting executive chairman Demetrius Perricos told the council on June 9 that "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," Middle East Newsline reported.
"It's being exported," Perricos said after the briefing. "It's being traded out. And there is a large variety of scrap metal from very new to very old, and slowly, it seems the country is depleted of metal."
"The removal of these materials from Iraq raises concerns with regard to proliferation risks," Perricos told the council. Perricos also reported that inspectors found Iraqi WMD and missile components shipped abroad that still contained UN inspection tags.
He said the Iraqi facilities were dismantled and sent both to Europe and around the Middle East. at the rate of about 1,000 tons of metal a month. Destionations included Jordan, the Netherlands and Turkey.
The Baghdad missile site contained a range of WMD and dual-use components, UN officials said. They included missile components, reactor vessel and fermenters – the latter required for the production of chemical and biological warheads.
"It raises the question of what happened to the dual-use equipment, where is it now and what is it being used for," Ewen Buchanan, Perricos's spokesman, said. "You can make all kinds of pharmaceutical and medicinal products with a fermenter. You can also use it to breed anthrax."
The UNMOVIC report said Iraqi missiles were dismantled and exported to such countries as Jordan, the Netherlands and Turkey. In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, an SA-2 surface-to-air missile, one of at least 12, was discovered in a junk yard, replete with UN tags. In Jordan, UN inspectors found 20 SA-2 engines as well as components for solid-fuel for missiles.
"The problem for us is that we don't know what may have passed through these yards and other yards elsewhere," Buchanan said. "We can't really assess the significance and don't know the full extent of activity that could be going on there or with others of Iraq's neighbors."
UN inspectors have assessed that the SA-2 and the short-range Al Samoud surface-to-surface missile were shipped abroad by agents of the Saddam regime. Buchanan said UNMOVIC plans to inspect other sites, including in Turkey.
In April, International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Mohammed El Baradei said material from Iraqi nuclear facilities were being smuggled out of the country.
Guess Bush was right after all..
So the Iraqis didn't have the WMD programs, but dismantled them anyway. Makes sense to me...
What WMD?
paging Mr. Hans Blix, Mr. Hans Blix....
That can't possibly be right. After all, the UN swore saddaam had no WMDs.
But.. but.. the UN SAID that stuff wasn't there!
They couldn't have lied or spoke too soon, could they?
/ barf.
Wonder how long until the spin begins, if it hasn't already?
You know, the ones he used before and killed people with. Those WMD.
Where'dja s'pose they got those satellite photos?
Wouldn't want to get between that story and Dan Rathers chance to spread the word. LOL
John Kerry was the head of the WMD program in Iraq?
Where is the reference to Blix not being able to find these?
And of course this will all end up being President Bush's fault. WMD in Iraq? How was it that he knew and did not act even sooner? What did he know and when did he know it? yadda yadda yadda.
I don't think they'll want to spin this one. Instead, each revelation will be blandly reported deep within newspapers and newscasts as to draw as little attention as possible - or completely ignored when that can be accomplished.
Don't bother - Blix wouldn't be able to find the white courtesy phone anyway.
Well, now.
One thing is for sure... our administration's guys are no dummies.
You missed their update the other day. They now say Saddam had WMD, but they were all destroyed. So I guess this new UN stance is the change to the change.
"Perricos also reported that inspectors found Iraqi WMD and missile components shipped abroad that still contained UN inspection tags."
So.....the UN inspectors tagged all the WMD before they didn't find them? Maybe Mr. Kerry could explain this to me.
Crud!
Yeah, I missed that.
Wonder how they explain the mix in flight Sarin artillery shell, it wasn't destroyed until it was set off as an IED.
If all the WMD were destroyed asthey claim, that shell wouldn't have ben there.
*slaps forehead*
Nevermind, I just remembered -their stance now is that Sarin isn't a WMD.
Hoo-boy, this is gonna be a fun ride it seems.
"It raises the question of what happened to the dual-use equipment, where is it now and what is it being used for,"
That's what I'd like to know. We don't need this stuff to fall into the hands of terrorists, IF it hasn't already.
This of course is old news, Israeli intelligence knew about this literally within hours after it happened.
Gonna be a lot of egg on a lot of face but the mission is to FIND them.
C'mon...this is debka, right?
LOL
Ping!
And so was David Kay. As far as I have seen he has never contradicted this statement:
Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief The Sunday Telegraph (UK) 1/25/04 Con Coughlin
"David Kay, the former head of the coalition's hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, yesterday claimed that part of Saddam Hussein's secret weapons programme was hidden in Syria.And maybe someone can follow up with Kay on this one:In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr Kay, who last week resigned as head of the Iraq Survey Group, said that he had uncovered evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before last year's war to overthrow Saddam.
"We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said. "But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."
Saddam Behind Anthrax Attacks? Accuracy In Media ^ | January 1, 2004 | Cliff Kincaid
"In a major development, potentially as significant as the capture of Saddam Hussein, investigative journalist Richard Miniter says there is evidence to indicate Saddam’s anthrax program was capable of producing the kind of anthrax that hit America shortly after 9/11. Miniter, author of Losing bin Laden, told Accuracy in Media that during November he interviewed U.S. weapons inspector Dr. David Kay in Baghdad and that he was "absolutely shocked and astonished" at the sophistication of the Iraqi program.Just asking...Miniter said that Kay told him that, "the Iraqis had developed new techniques for drying and milling anthrax—techniques that were superior to anything the United States or the old Soviet Union had. That would make the former regime of Saddam Hussein the most sophisticated manufacturer of anthrax in the world."
Ping
Heck, those weren't photos, those were sales receipts.
The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
WMD in Iraq,... you're f#($! kidding me...Can we just focus on something else besides WMD 24/7, ... "There is other news", like those steamy photos of panty cladded iraqi prisoners ... they "got very short shrift this week."
hmm?... what's that?
Oh, we're on... ahem...
^
Then ask them what happened, and they will lie through their teeth to cover their *sses. Who does Kofi Annan think he is, Bill Clinton?
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Will someone please e-mail this to O'Reilly. I am so tired of his harping on the error of the WMD.
First they go and pick that undead looking freak of a loser for a candidate... then its wall-to-wall coverage of Reagan, Reagan, Reagan... and now this... WMD bull$#!+.... I'm telling you dave... its just a lot to take... tissue please.
Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't we in charge of those areas (more or less) during this time period? And if we were and knew about these missiles, why did we let them take them apart under our noses? Something doesn't look right here.
Freepers --- get this on every talk show in the nation. Get it to newspaper editors. Make them write the story.
ping
I believe the issue of the WMDs is the single biggest problem Bush has faced. He played this issue too straight and too lawyerly and was not aggressive enough. The issue should have always been framed that we don't know where Saddam put them rather than whether they existed at all. I think his handling of this issue (and its still not too late) is one of the single most impacting factors on whether he wins in Nov. If a large cache were found, Bush wins hands down. If we continue to get dribs and drabs, then its still in play like its been.
Yo, Dan Rather. You wanted to cover other news? Here ya go, Bub. And there's still time to get in on the Evening News.
Of course the next Dem/media response will be:
"So if you knew the WMD existed, why didn't you prevent their smuggling of it out? Now your botching of the war effort has made it worse, spreading the underground proliferation when before the war at least it was 'contained' in Iraq."
The 15-page quarterly report, PDF file format, can be found here:
Slam Dunk: Iraq did have WMDs, but Dan Rather doesn't really care
By the way, the gentleman I spoke to regarding the report was very polite...he answered my questions without any apparent political agenda (though I suspect, being a U.N.er, he is liberal). He did say they suspect most of the material was taken away after the war was pretty much over last year. I commented that this wasn't really making much news, and he said the L.A. Slimes and the New York Slimes had reported on it.
I was just amazed how David Kay's "we were all wrong" comment got front page, 3-days of coverage....and this vindicating report gets scant attention.
If you want to speak to UNMOVIC, here is the number: 212-963-3022. Please, be polite. The guy was very accomodating and seemed quite knowledgeable regarding the matter. I didn't get a name.
major BUSH WAS RIGHT bump...again...
Good for you for calling!
ANYONE out there have SEE BS Snooze's phone numbers?? Let's call those jackals and ask if they're going to do a report on WMDs being FOUND.
its still going to be hard to make the case, because the media has cemented the "no WMD" reality so hard - that its going to be hard to dislodge, an uphill battle.
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