UNITED
NATIONS, June 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Chief U.N. arms
inspector Hans Blix on Thursday, June 5, cast doubt on the authority of
the U.S.-British experts searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
in Iraq, as a U.S. Senator welcomed calls for a congressional probe into
U.S. troops' not having found WMD in Iraq and called into question
President George W. Bush's "truthfulness" on the matter.
"I
do not want to question the integrity or the professionalism of the
inspectors of the coalition, but anybody who functions under an army of
occupation cannot have the same credibility as an independent
inspector," Blix told reporters after addressing the U.N. Security
Council.
The
former Swedish foreign minister admitted that he felt
"disappointed" at the way the United States and Britain
started the war without letting his U.N. Monitoring and Verification
Commission finish its work.
The
United States and Britain has refused to let U.N. inspectors back into
Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9.
But
they have been unable to produce evidence of the chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons programs they used to justify the invasion and have
sent hundreds of "extra experts" to Iraq to step up the hunt.
Blix
gave what he predicted would be his final report on Iraq to the Security
Council. The 75-year-old official is expected to stand down at the end
of the month.
He
told council members "there remain long lists of items unaccounted
for" in the nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs which
Iraq claimed to have dismantled more than a decade ago.
"But
it is not justified to jump to the conclusion that something exists just
because it is unaccounted for," he said adding that the U.N.
Monitoring and Verification Commission should still have a role in Iraq.
The
UNMOVIC chairman was asked by reporters whether he felt betrayed by the
U.S. decision to start the war while inspections were still going.
"Betrayal
is not the right word," he replied. "I felt some
disappointment, but I felt that in some months we could have come
further."
He
said it was "a business that was not finished."
"It
is important to retain the view we all want to see the truth on the
situation in Iraq. We wish the inspectors and the people who are there
the best of luck. They have not found very much so far."
Blix
also expressed the hope that UNMOVIC would be used in other places apart
from Iraq. He said members of the Security Council shared his hopes.
"We
also discussed the potential use of a body like UNMOVIC which has
trained inspectors and has capabilities in the area of biology and
missiles which no other organization has at the present time," he
declared.
"Truthfulness"
Of U.S. President On The Line
 |
|
Rumsfeld
insisted the intelligence was "good," and promised that
Powell's testimony "will be proved right"
|
Senator
Robert Byrd -- one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. policy in Iraq
-- welcomed calls Thursday for a congressional probe into U.S. troops'
not having found weapons of mass destruction there, and called into
question President George W. Bush's "truthfulness" on the
matter.
"What
amazes me is that the president himself is not clamoring for an
investigation," Byrd said from the floor of the Senate.
"It
is his truthfulness that is being questioned. It is his integrity that
is on the line," the West Virginia Democrat said.
"Yet
he has raised no question, expressed no curiosity, about the strange
turn of events in Iraq -- expressed no anger at the possibility that he
might have been misled."
"How
is it that the president who was so adamant about the dangers of WMD,
has expressed no concern about the whereabouts of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq?" Byrd said.
‘Good’
Nevertheless,
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted the intelligence was
"good," and promised Thursday that Powell's testimony
"will be proved right."
U.S.
pre-war intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was
"good," Rumsfeld insisted Thursday after closed-door talks
with US congressmen.
