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| Iraq |
| U.N. Inspectors Wish to Return to Iraq |
| 2003-04-18 |
| UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. arms inspectors are ready to get back into Iraq to finish the job of looking for any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons but don't want to work under a new U.S.-led disarmament effort. ``We're not dogs on a leash,'' said chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix, who said it was key his teams remain independent. We didn't exactly consider you dogs on a leash, either, Blixie. For openers, you didn't need a leash! He said U.N. teams would be willing to confirm any discoveries of banned weapons the Americans report, but repeatedly noted that U.S. troops haven't found any such weapons thus far. We're busy looking and cataloging. We'll let you know. The Bush administration said one of the war's main missions was to rid Iraq of the weapons it believes Saddam was concealing. With U.S. troops controlling most of Iraq, Washington has all but replaced the U.N. inspections with its own search for banned Iraqi weapons. The U.S. teams have visited between three and four dozen sites, a Pentagon official said. So far they haven't found any evidence of weapons of mass destruction but some samples taken Thursday at the Tallil air base needed further testing, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a failed effort to win international support for the war, told the United Nations in February that U.S. intelligence proved Iraq had such weapons. But on Thursday Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that U.S. troops would need to rely on the Iraqis to find the weaponry. ``I don't think we'll discover anything, myself,'' Rumsfeld said. ``I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find it. It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere, hoping you find something.'' No one knows that better than Blix, who came under heavy criticism at times from U.S. officials angered that he wasn't backing their position. ``We had Can anyone combine this special blend of obstinate prevarication and willful cluelessness better than Blixie? Rummie just gone telling you that we'll have to rely on the Iraqis to tell us where to look. You, Blixie, could never get the Iraqis to do that, so of course you didn't find anything. But U.S. officials, deeply skeptical of the U.N. teams, have said privately that they wouldn't be welcome to return right now. Now the search is being conducted by U.S. disarmament teams, made up of military specialists, scientists and former U.N. inspectors searching for the weapons Iraq was banned from having after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Only in the past few days, Rumsfeld said, have enough weapons searchers arrived in parts of Iraq where U.S. intelligence indicates chemical or biological weapons could be found. ``The teams have been trained in chain of control, really like a crime scene,'' he said. ``That will not stop certain countries and certain types of people from claiming, inaccurately, that it was planted.'' Such fears have been privately voiced by Security Council members such as Russia and France, which remain unconvinced that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. "Heck, we figured we could once again insult the 'Merkin sense of honor by spreading rumors that it's all a lie. Look how will it worked last time!" Both countries want inspectors back in the field as soon as possible as does Secretary-General Kofi Annan who has said only U.N. inspectors - and not the Americans - have the legal authority to oversee Iraqi disarmament. I apologize to Rantburg readers for earlier insinuating that only Blixie could be this clueless and obstinate. I was wrong. While the 74-year-old Blix seems eager to Our 1,000 guys won't be mislead by Sammy's secret police, and our comm links will be secure, and we won't be telgraphing our intentions every day, and our guys actually have a work ethic. Other than that, why would you think we'd be better at this? ``They have so many more people, they are all over the place, they get tips from private individuals, they stumble upon ammunition storage so there is a good chance they will cover wide areas but they still have much to go to and haven't found anything yet.'' Ooooooo, the arrogance of this man. My blood is beginning to boil. Ethel, my other pills! Blix said he hasn't been in contact with Washington since the beginning of the war and that the only information he gets regarding the disarmament process is through a He should have been reading Rantburg. He also cast doubt on reports that some of Iraq's weapons may have been moved to neighboring Syria. ``I'd like to see solid evidence that things have gone to Syria as we would like to see solid evidence of weapons in Iraq.'' "And even then I wouldn't believe a thing. I work for the Security Council, you know!" In the meantime, Blix is maintaining his team's readiness to return. He says they would need about two weeks notice and he plans to brief the Security Council next week on preparations he's making in case he's given the go-ahead. Sure Hans, you keep polishing your bayonet. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 I'm kind-of hoping WMDs aren't found because it will cause major issues in the UNSC, and accelerate the UNSC's irrelevance. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2003-04-19 01:24:47 |
| #11 Tell you what, Kofi: You give a complete INDEPENDENTLY audited financial report on your Oil for |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-18 15:14:09 |
| #10 But we're not going to be dogs on a leash. They didn't seem to mind a whole lot when it was Saddam's minders yanking their chains, arrogant hypocrites... |
| Posted by: Raj 2003-04-18 12:34:18 |
| #9 Once more, Hans Blix and Kofi Annan make stupid statements that only "UN Action will be legal". I get so tired of these people trying to force UN sovereignty over the sovereignty of individual nations. The UN is nothing but a glorified debate society that has a hard time even determining if Robert's Rules of Order apply, and to what extent. The United Nations is acting more and more like a petulent child with poor manners and an overblown ego, rather than a society of adults. March 20th marked the end of reliance on United Nations activities in Iraq. It's about time someone told both Annan and Blix that they're totally irrelevant, and the pink slip's in the mail. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-18 11:15:10 |
| #8 quote from Mark Steyn's latest: "Weapons of Mass Destruction. Remember them? Not a single one has yet been found" (Bill Neely, ITV, April 10th) Actually, I almost wish this one were true. Anything that turns up now will be assumed to have been planted. If I were Washington, I'd consider burying anything I found. After all, an America that feels no need to bother faking justifications for invasion would be far more alarming to most Europeans. Instead, horrible things will turn up, but will never be "conclusive" enough for the French, who've got all the receipts anyway." ouch heh heh |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-18 10:57:02 |
| #7 "Oops, sorry, no WMD's...Guess we'll just have to give the joint back to Sammy's boys..." Not friggin' likely. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-04-18 09:57:26 |
| #6 I don't accept this notion that we have to find WMD in Iraq to "prove" to the world that Saddam had them; and if we don't, our failure will "prove" that Operation Iraqi Freedom was undertaken on false pretenses. It's beyond dispute that Saddam had chemical weapons, because he's used them against Iranian troops as well as against his own civilian population. The UN itself has said that not all of Saddam's chemical munitions were destroyed by earlier inspection regimes, and Blix himself had stated that Saddam's claims that he destroyed the remainder himself- while not documenting that destruction in any way- are simply not credible. As far as I'm concerned the entire burden of proof is on those who claim that Saddam has no remaining WMD. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2003-04-18 09:00:58 |
| #5 Blix received his two week's notice March 19. Go home, Hans. Let men do the job. |
| Posted by: badanov 2003-04-18 08:08:19 |
| #4 Both countries want inspectors back in the field as soon as possible as does Secretary-General Kofi Annan who has said only U.N. inspectors - and not the Americans - have the legal authority to oversee Iraqi disarmament. I guess Kofi thinks the UN is the twenty-first century Judge Roy Bean -- "The Law West of, er, Anywhere." |
| Posted by: John Phares 2003-04-18 07:35:09 |
| #3 Typical Bush II administration SOP: Say nothing publicly and officially, work behind the scenes to pile up the support and evidence, let peripheral players make comments that are regarded by idiotarians as official statments to which they responde with inane ravings. THEN come out with an official statment and evidence sufficient to blow their sorry asses out of the water... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-18 06:54:39 |
| #2 "Can anyone combine this special blend of obstinate prevarication and willful cluelessness better than Blixie?" Janet Reno... but then again, I've never seen the two of them together, either... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-04-18 01:36:46 |
| #1 Arrgh, munged a /span. Can you fix that, Fred? Sorry. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-04-18 00:36:41 |