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"No evidence of proscribed activities…" or of "underground facilities ... were found so far," Blix said
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UNITED
NATIONS, March 7 (IslamOnline.net) – Chief U.N. arms inspector Hans
Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General
Mohamed ElBaradei praised on Friday, March 7, Iraqi substantial
cooperation with U.N. inspection teams as well as its accelerated
disarmament.
Delivering
his latest report to the U.N. Security Council on the inspection process
in Iraq, Blix confirmed that Baghdad had speeded up cooperation with his
disarmament teams, adding that inspections process would take months.
The
head of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
(UNMOVIC) underlined there was no evidence of banned activities in Iraq
and lauded Baghdad’s "acceleration of activities" since the
end of January as a positive development.
"After
a period of somewhat reluctant cooperation there has been an
acceleration of initiatives from the Iraqi side since the end of
January," he confirmed.
"This
is welcomed," Blix said, referring to Iraq's destruction of
al-Samoud II missiles, a key demand of U.N. weapons inspectors.
Until
Friday, 34 Al-Samoud 2 missiles, including four training missiles and
two combat warheads, have been destroyed since Saturday, March 1, under
U.N. supervision, Blix told the Security Council.
"The
destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament,
indeed the first since the middle of the 1990s. We are not watching the
breaking of toothpicks; lethal weapons are being destroyed," he
underlined.
No
Evidence of Mobile Activities
Blix
said that there was no proof Iraq had been hiding banned weapons in
mobile laboratories to turn them away form inspectors' eyes or even
underground chemical or biological production or storage facilities.
"Several
inspections have taken place ... in relation to mobile production
facilities, . . no evidence of proscribed activities has so far been
found", asserted the chief U.N. inspector.
He
underlined the need for giving inspectors more time in Iraq given the
country's positive cooperation.
"It
will not take years, nor weeks but months," Blix told the Security
Council member states.
He
commended the Iraqi government for becoming more "proactive"
in tabling proposals on inspections.
Blix
asserted that the issue of al-Fatah missiles, Washington claims are
banned, is still being investigated.
As
to calls to increase the number of inspectors working in Iraq, Blix said
the bottom line is to get more information from Iraq about the fate of
its stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction or evidence that they were
dismantled.
The
chief inspector underlined that the Iraqi side had encouraged Iraqi
experts to be privately interviewed by U.N. inspectors and submitted
lists of their names to the U.N. teams.
He
added, however, that the U.N. might in the near future interview Iraqi
experts outside the country, pledging to present a work program this
month as to inspections in Iraq.
Uranium
Documents Fraudulent
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| Reports of "uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger -- are, in fact, not authentic," confirmed El-Baradei |
Delivering
his own report on Iraq inspections to the Security Council, ElBaradei
asserted that allegations Iraq had tried to acquire uranium from the
African nation of Niger were false.
The
IAEA chief said his agency had determined that documents said by the
United States and Britain to support the allegations were fraudulent.
"Based
on thorough analysis, the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of
outside experts, that these documents -- which formed the basis for the
reports of these uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger -- are, in
fact, not authentic," he confirmed.
"We
have also concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded,"
ElBaradei told the Security Council.
He
also assured that there was no Iraqi effort to use aluminum tubes for
nuclear plans.
Even
if the Iraqis tried to use the tubes, they would have faced a great deal
of difficulties, he said, adding that Baghdad did not even use magnetic
power for the same purpose.
No
Nuclear Activity
ElBaradei
also told the Security Council that there was no evidence whatsoever
that Iraq was undertaking nuclear activities or reviving nuclear
programs.
"Inspectors
had found no indication of nuclear-related prohibited activities at any
inspected site," he said.
There
is no sign that Iraq rebuilt nuclear institutions unlike what satellite
pictures reportedly revealed or that institutions earlier inspected have
developed any nuclear plans, he said.
Blix
and ElBaradei’s testimonies were likely to do little to ease Council
splits over whether to authorize war on Iraq, as each side was sure to
interpret the reports differently.
The
United States and Britain argue that Iraq has shown no willingness to
meet the requirements for immediate and full disarmament contained in
resolution 1441, and were expected to highlight areas where Baghdad is
not in full compliance.
France,
Russia and China argue that the time has not yet come for war, and that
inspections, while not perfect, are showing progress and should
continue.
U.S.
President George W. Bush late Thursday, March 6, accused Iraq of making
a "charade" of the inspections process and warned that he
would push a new U.S.-British resolution to a vote, to make Security
Council members stand up for their position.
