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STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD
Posted on 09/30/2002 9:55:54 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
(Excerpt) Read more at eha.darktech.org ...
If you have any other relevant links to post here regarding Weapons Inspectors, Iraq etc., please feel free to post them here. Thanks, and please bump if you don't mind!
JANUARY 2, 1998 : (IRAQ, ATTACK ON UNSCOM INSPECTORS) Rocket attack on the headquarters of the UNSCOM inspectors in Baghdad; it did not cause damage because the rocket did not explode. No 'group' claimed responsibility for the attacks.
FEBRUARY 14, 1998 : (UK, IRAQ) Robin Cook, then UK Foreign Secretary, first uses the phrase “doing nothing is not an option” with Iraq. This was to become UK government’s position until August 2002.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
FEBRUARY 23, 1998 : (IRAQ OFFERS ACCESS TO 8 SITES) Iraq offers access to eight “Presidential sites” in Iraq, in a compromise deal.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
MAY 1998 : (IRAQ OBTAINS KIDNEY MACHINES TO GET PRECISION SWITCHES) Iraq ordered six “lithotripter” machines, saying they would be used to treat kidney stones. Each machine contains a high-precision electronic switch which triggers atomic bombs. It ordered six extra switches.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
MAY 1998 : (IRAQ, CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, KHALED ELGINDY, AAI, IRAQ TRIP) Khaled Elgindy joins a delegation of Arab-American activists on a humanitarian mission to Iraq and to observe the effects of sanctions first hand. Khaled previously served as Press Secretary to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), who at the time became the first member of Congress to oppose military action against Iraq and has since called for the lifting of sanctions against the Iraqi people. Khaled Elgindy is in 2002, the National Coordinator for Political Action at the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC. Khaled represents AAI on a number of national coalitions, including the National Iraq Network, and is responsible for mobilizing Arab-American action on various legislative issues.e has a master's degree from Georgetown University's school of foreign service and a bachelor's degree in Poli-Sci from Indiana U. May be relative of Amr I. ``Tony'' Elgindy, arrested on charges related to stock dealing around 9/11/2002
AUGUST 5, 1998 : (UNSCOM, IRAQ BALKS) Iraq has refused since August 5 to work with the UN Special Commission (Unscom) set up to ensure that it dismantles any weapons of mass destruction in its possession. Baghdad has demanded that the UN body be re-structured, its alleged US influence reduced, and its headquarters moved from New York to Europe. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
AUGUST 5, 1998 : (IRAQ BARS UNSCOM INSPECTIONS OF NEW FACILITIES) Iraq says it will no longer allow UNSCOM to inspect new facilities- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
AUGUST 14, 1998 : (US SENATE DECLARES IRAQ IS IN BREACH) US Senate passes a motion declaring Iraq to be in “material breach” of its obligations.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
AUGUST 26, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR RITTER RESIGNS) According to Mr Schiff's report on the claims by Mr Ritter, the longest-serving American weapons inspector, Unscom knows where the three nearly complete nuclear bombs are hidden. The UN team is also said by Mr Ritter to have information on the method used to conceal the bombs, the units and officers responsible for guarding them, and the types of vehicle employed to transport them in the game of cat and mouse between Saddam and the UN experts. Mr Ritter claimed that, despite the information available, no order was given to the team to conduct a surprise inspection of the site. He claimed that the Security Council and the Clinton Administration had blocked the work of the inspectors just as they were "on the doorstep" of uncovering Iraq's hidden non-conventional weapons of mass destruction. His revelation about the existence of the three bombs has again heightened tensions in the Middle East and raised the stakes in any new confrontation between Iraq and the West. Israel has long believed that it would be the first target of any Iraqi nuclear strike. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (IRAQ, SCOTT RITTER COMMITTEE TESTIMONY) Ritter was invited to testify at a joint hearing of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees on September 3, 1998. Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Republican, introduced Ritter as "a tough and demanding inspector" and a "dedicated American." Ritter wasted no time in offering his assessment of the continuing threat: "Iraq has not been disarmed." The United States, he claimed, had deliberately thwarted the U.N. inspections for fear of a confrontation with Iraq. He ripped the administration for its refusal to back up the inspections process with a legitimate use of force, including, but not limited to, removing Saddam Hussein's regime. http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/524dplvk.asp
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (IRAQ, UN RESOLUTION TO WITHDRAW INSPECTORS) Babel, the Baghdad paper owned by Uday, Saddam's eldest son, issued a warning that, if the resolution were to be adopted, Iraq would boycott the UN Security Council. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (UNSC SUSPENDS SANCTIONS REVIEWS) UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 1194, suspending sanctions reviews.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
SEPTEMBER 10, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR RITTER, IRAQ, NUKES) Iraq is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Haaretz quoted Mr Ritter as revealing that proof also existed that Iraq had been manufacturing chemical weapons outside its borders since the Gulf War. He said that Unscom wanted to pursue this lead in Sudan, but its mandate limited its activities to Iraq. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
OCTOBER 31, 1998 : (IRAQ BANS ALL UNSCOM ACTIVITIES) Iraq bans all remaining UNSCOM activities- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
NOVEMBER 14, 1998 : (CLINTON DELAYS STRIKES) Clinton delays his planned strikes on Iraq by 24 hours, in hope of lastminute deal.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
NOVEMBER 15, 1998 : (IRAQ AGREES TO RESCIND BAN ON UNSCOM) A deal is delivered, as Iraq agrees to rescind its ban on UNSCOM activities. Diffuses crisis.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
DECEMBER 15, 1998 : (UNSCOM WITHDRAWS DUE TO IRAQI NONCOMPLIANCE) UNSCOM weapons inspectors withdraw from Iraq, saying Saddam has not delivered the unfettered access he promised, rendering the team unable to perform their mission.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
DECEMBER 16, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX BEGINS) Operation Desert Fox begins. US and UK launch 415 cruise missiles and 200 bombs at 50 Iraqi locations. It was, however, a flop (The Center for Strategic and International Studies has described Desert Fox as “a near total failure.” Its full report is entitled “If We Fight Iraq,” revised 28 June 2002). Only ten targets were destroyed and 18 severely damaged. US says it killed 1,400 Iraqi troops. Baghdad says 62.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
1998 (near year's end) : (AFGHANISTAN, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, HIJAZI, MET WITH BIN LADEN IN KANDAHAR ) The source added that Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which has now effectively merged with al-Qaeda, maintained regular contacts with Iraq for many years. He confirmed the claims first made by the Iraqi National Congress - that towards the end of 1998, Farouk Hijazi, Iraq's ambassador to Turkey and a key member of the Mukhabarat leadership - went to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where he met bin Laden.
DECEMBER 20, 1998 : (OPERATION DESERT FOX ENDS) End of Desert Fox, a 72-hour operation. Clinton says more may follow.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
It was during Desert Fox, when a corner of a building's roof was blown off, that the CIA discovered Iraq had fitted aircraft with crop-dusting equipment.
MARCH 2, 1998 : (UNSC) UN Security Council seeks to bolster compromise by passing a unanimous resolution (1154) saying that Iraq’s failure to comply with UN sanctions will have the “most severe consequences”- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
OCTOBER 23, 1997 - APRIL 1998 : (UN SUSPENDS SANCTIONS REVIEWS) After more than a year of Iraqi interference, the UN suspends sanctions reviews until April 98.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
OCTOBER 29, 1997 : (IRAQ BANS AMERICANS FROM INSPECTIONS) Iraq bans Americans in UNSCOM from making any inspections.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
NOVEMBER 13, 1997 : (IRAQ EXPELS UNSCOM AMERICANS) Iraq expels Americans working for UNSCOM- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
NOVEMBER 14, 1997 : (US HOUSE PASSES MOTION BACKING UNILATERAL MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAQ) US House of Representatives passes motion backing unilateral US military action against Iraq, but only as a last resort.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
here's a juicy excerpt: -
...monitored the coded radio communications of President Saddam Hussein's innermost security forces using equipment secretly installed in Iraq by U.N. weapons inspectors, according to U.S. and U.N. officials.
In 1996 and 1997, the Iraqi communications were captured by off-the-shelf commercial equipment carried by inspectors from the organization known as UNSCOM, then hand-delivered to analysis centers in Britain, Israel and the United States for interpretation, officials said.
But early last year, when UNSCOM decided it was too dangerous for its inspectors to carry the equipment, the United States took control of the operation and replaced the store-bought scanners and digital tape recorders with more sophisticated automated monitors. The intercepted Iraqi communications were sent by satellite relay in a nearby country to the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, where they were decoded and translated into English, the officials said.
U.S. officials confirmed the monitoring operation in an effort to rebut allegations that the United States had inappropriately used UNSCOM as a tool to penetrate Saddam Hussein's security and promote his downfall. Until yesterday, U.S. officials had denied using intelligence gathered in connection with UNSCOM for U.S. purposes....
U.S. officials have said the purpose of the radio intercepts was to help UNSCOM do the job assigned to it by the U.N. Security Council. To the extent the operation provided additional information was a bonus that did not deviate from UNSCOM's mandate, the officials said.
As recounted to The Post by U.S. and U.N. officials, the UNSCOM effort to get inside Saddam Hussein's security apparatus began early in this decade, after UNSCOM concluded that Iraq did not intend to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions requiring it to destroy its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
While officials said that intelligence agents from several countries, including the United States, were assigned to work on UNSCOM inspection teams, U.S. officials insisted that no Americans report to Washington outside UNSCOM channels.
Instead, U.S. officials and others said, it became apparent over time that Iraq was bent on concealing its banned weapons, and that the security forces assigned to that task were the same as those assigned to Saddam Hussein's security. Penetration of one was tantamount to penetration of the other, officials said, especially because they used the same encrypted radio frequencies.
Rolf Ekeus, then UNSCOM's chairman and now Sweden's ambassador to the United States, said he briefed members of the Security Council in early 1997 on this discovery and on the possibility that tracking weapons could also end up gathering information that might be helpful in tracking Saddam Hussein.
The idea of taking scanners into Iraq originated with Scott Ritter, a former U.S. Marine officer who was working as an UNSCOM inspector in 1995. On a trip to Israel, Ritter proposed that Israeli intelligence provide inspectors with commercial all-frequency scanners and recording devices that they could carry with them.
These communications included warnings to weapons facilities that UNSCOM inspectors were on their way and instructions to hide contraband material. But that information did not help the inspectors at the time, officials said, because it had to be relayed to Israel and Britain -- or, at a later date, to the NSA -- to be decoded and translated.
The inspectors never had access to Iraqi communications in "real time," officials said, but the information was useful in understanding Iraqi concealment techniques.
In March 1998, for reasons that are in dispute, the United States took over the operation and arranged for the installation of the more sophisticated, stationary equipment. The equipment was automated and could have been moved as UNSCOM inspectors left the country.
Ritter has accused the United States of putting pressure on Britain and Israel to pull out in an effort to gain full control of the intelligence produced. U.S. officials said Ekeus and his successor, Richard Butler, were concerned that inspectors' lives would be endangered if the Iraqis discovered the portable equipment they were carrying.
A decision by the United States at the time it took over the monitoring operation sowed the seeds of later trouble. Washington specified that only Butler and his deputy, Charles Duelfer, be given access to the intercepted material.
Ritter was cut out because of questions arising from his marriage to a Russian and because of Washington's fears that a Justice Department investigation into allegations that Ritter had improperly given classified information to Israel would provide anti-UNSCOM propaganda fodder for Saddam Hussein.
In August, shortly after Iraq expelled the arms inspectors, Ritter resigned and made the explosive accusation that the United States had undercut UNSCOM by cutting off the flow of crucial intelligence data. U.S. officials say they did not cut off UNSCOM, only Ritter personally.
--snip---- ------------------------
Then Ritter accused the United States of cutting off the flow of crucial intelligence. Now he accuses the United States of using the UNSCOM members TO "spy of Saddam and jeopardixe the mission." The man is definitely a very loose cannon.
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