Powell's
Claims Dismissed By Blix
By Dan Plesch in New York
The Guardian -
UK
2-6-3
- The chief UN weapons inspector yesterday dismissed
what has been billed as a central claim of the speech the US secretary
of state, Colin Powell, will make today to the UN security
council.
-
- Hans Blix said there was no evidence of mobile
biological weapons laboratories or of Iraq trying to foil inspectors by
moving equipment before his teams arrived.
-
- In a series of leaks or previews, the state department
has said Mr Powell will allege that Iraq moved mobile biological weapons
laboratories ahead of an inspection. Dr Blix said he had already
inspected two alleged mobile labs and found nothing: "Two food-testing
trucks have been inspected and nothing has been found."
-
- Dr Blix said that the problem of bio-weapons
laboratories on trucks had been around for a while and that he had
received tips from the US that led him to inspect trucks in Iraq. The
Iraqis claimed that the trucks were used to inspect the quality of food
production.
-
- He also contested the theory that the Iraqis knew in
advance what sites were to be inspected. He added that they expected to
be bugged "by several nations" and took great care not to say anything
Iraqis could overhear.
-
- He said he assumed the US secretary of state would not
be indicating sites that the inspectors should visit that he had not
told them about. "It is more likely to be based upon satellite imagery
and upon intercepts of telephone conversations or knowledge about Iraqi
procurement of technical material or chemicals," he said.
-
- Dr Blix is travelling to Baghdad for further meetings
with Iraqi officials before reporting to the security council on
February 14 and March 1.
-
- He said the choice for the UN was between continued
containment and invasion. Both strategies had problems, but an invasion
required 250,000 troops and over $100bn while for containment the
numbers were 250 inspectors and $80m.
-
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,889135,00.html
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