I fail to understand the purpose of the publication of this inconclusive article in our local mailing list. Could you please be a little more discriminating in future. Gustau Barbat
----- Mensaje original ----- De: T o n e t <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Para: <[email protected]> Enviado: dimecres, 19 / febrer / 2003 23:55 Asunto: [cardedeu] Tres vaixells misteriosos > (Del diari The Independent que �s la font original de la not�cia que avui > han publicat tamb� alguns diaris d'aqu�) > > Three mystery ships are tracked over suspected 'weapons' cargo > By Michael Harrison > 19 February 2003 > > Three giant cargo ships are being tracked by US and British intelligence on > suspicion that they might be carrying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. > > Each with a deadweight of 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes, the ships have been > sailing around the world's oceans for the past three months while > maintaining radio silence in clear violation of international maritime law, > say authoritative shipping industry sources. > > The vessels left port in late November, just a few days after UN weapons > inspectors led by Hans Blix began their search for the alleged Iraqi arsenal > on their return to the country. > > Uncovering such a deadly cargo on board would give George Bush and Tony > Blair the much sought-after "smoking gun" needed to justify an attack on > Saddam Hussein's regime, in the face of massive public opposition to war. > > The ships were chartered by a shipping agent based in Egypt and are flying > under the flags of three different countries. The continued radio silence > since they left port, in addition to the captains' failure to provide > information on their cargoes or their destinations, is a clear breach of > international maritime laws. > > The vessels are thought to have spent much of their time in the deep waters > of the Indian Ocean, berthing at sea when they need to collect supplies of > fuel and food. They have berthed in a handful of Arab countries, including > Yemen. > > American and British military forces are believed to be reluctant to stop > and search the vessels for fear that any intervention might result in them > being scuttled. If they were carrying chemical and biological weapons, or > fissile nuclear material, and they were to be sunk at sea, the environmental > damage could be catastrophic. > > Washington and London might also want to orchestrate any raids so that they > can present the ships as "evidence" that President Saddam is engaged in > "material breach" of UN resolutions. This could provide the trigger for > military strikes. While security sources in London last night were unable to > provide information on any surveillance operation, the movement of the three > ships is the source of growing concern among maritime and intelligence > experts. > > A shipping industry source told The Independent: "If Iraq does have weapons > of mass destruction, then a very large part of its capability could be > afloat on the high seas right now. These ships have maintained radio silence > for long periods and, for a considerable time, they have been steaming > around in ever-decreasing circles." > > The ships are thought to have set sail from a country other than Iraq to > avoid running the gauntlet of Western naval vessels patrolling the Gulf. > Defence experts believe that, if they are carrying weapons of mass > destruction, these could have been smuggled out through Syria or Jordan. > > Despite hundreds of searches by UN inspectors, no evidence has yet been > found of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. A succession of > "dossiers" presented by Downing Street has been criticised for providing > inaccurate information, with the most recent one subject to ridicule because > a student's 11-year-old doctoral thesis was being passed off as current > intelligence. There was a further setback for Washington and London when the > accuracy of satellite photographs shown to the United Nations by Colin > Powell, the Secretary of State, purporting to show Iraqi officials moving > incriminating evidence from a suspected site, was questioned by Hans Blix. > > Mr Blix said: "The reported movement of munitions at the site could just as > easily have been a routine activity as a movement of proscribed munitions in > anticipation of an imminent inspection." > > Attempts to link the Iraqi regime to al-Qa'ida and other Islamist groups > have also been met with scepticism. The UN says, though, that Iraq has > failed to account for 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents from the war against > Iran; to reveal the whereabouts of 6,500 missing chemical rockets; to > produce evidence it has destroyed 8,500 litres of anthrax; and to account > for 380 rocket engines smuggled into Iraq with chemicals used for missile > propellants and control systems. > > Intelligence reports, and some Iraqi defectors, have maintained that > incriminating material and documents relating to weapons of mass destruction > have been buried in remote parts of the country and have also been hidden in > a variety of locations including homes of officials and scientists, as well > as mosques. There have also been claims that chemical and biological > products have been smuggled into Syria. > > http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=379623 > http://www.larazon.es/noticias/carguero.htm (castell�) > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Search, le moteur de recherche qui pense comme vous ! > http://search.msn.fr/worldwide.asp > > --------------------------------------------- > La llista de correu CARDEDEU �s una iniciativa del Cardedeu Online Club <http://www.cardedeu.org/club/> amb el suport de Thesaurus Serveis Documentals > <http://www.thesaurus.es/>. Instruccions de > participaci�, altes i baixes a <http://www.thesaurus.es/c10/llista/> --------------------------------------------- La llista de correu CARDEDEU �s una iniciativa del Cardedeu Online Club <http://www.cardedeu.org/club/> amb el suport de Thesaurus Serveis Documentals <http://www.thesaurus.es/>. 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