Now, here's a real smart thing to do... (1 Viewer)

[steve albino]

AP article on Iraq inspectors initial findings...
Reversing an earlier decision, the U.N. Security Council agreed late Sunday to give the United States and the four other permanent council members - Britain, France, Russia and China - full copies of the 12,000-page declaration.

Deputy Russian Ambassador Gennady Gatilov said the United States had taken the council's lone copy to Washington where it would make duplicates for distribution to the four other powerful council members.

 

[P. Littbarski]

addendum : there was only one copy supplied by Iraq as the components used to make photocopiers can also be utilised in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction

 

[pete]

also, apparently those crazy iracckies have listed foreign companies that have been doing business with them as part of their arms program...

ho ho ho

 

[P. Littbarski]

and their reaction...

IRAQI ANGER OVER LEAK

Iraq has blasted the UN decision to give Washington an unedited copy of its weapons declaration.

Its Foreign Ministry said Washington would only try to manipulate the dossier to produce a pretext to launch war.

"This American behaviour aims at manipulating United Nations documents to find covers for aggression against Iraq, especially after it has been revealed to the world the facts regarding United States' claims regarding the possession of weapons of mass destruction," an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement said.

'Sensitive material'

It called Washington's lobbying of some UN members to get an early copy as "an unprecedented blackmail operation in the history of the United Nations".

The Iraqis said Washington's move showed that it took the UN charter and the rights of the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council lightly.

The ministry released the text of a letter from Foreign Minister Naji Sabri that was attached to the 12,000-page declaration handed over to the UN on Saturday.

In the letter, Sabri warned against the release of the documents as it contained "sensitive material".

The ministry said experts from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should have reviewed the declaration and taken out the sensitive information.

Iraq claims its declaration gives a full account of any past and current programmes involving biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.

It has denied having any such weapons but the US says it has and warned it is ready to take military action to disarm Baghdad.

Last Updated: 14:02 UK, Tuesday December 10, 2002

 

[steve albino]

And just to make matters that little bit clearer for all of us. Two pieces of info at the same time on the same subject.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Tuesday that Washington would seek a "diplomatic solution" to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
North Korea, however, reiterated its rejection of a U.N. watchdog's appeal to abandon its nuclear program and to accept foreign inspections. In my meetings today, we reaffirmed our common interest in finding a diplomatic solution to North Korea's destabilizing pursuit of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction," Armitage said in a written statement.

While in Iraq:

"Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a self-defense measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts against coalition forces and their aircraft," said a statement from the U.S. Central Command, which monitors the southern zone.

In the north, two U.S. F-16s aimed four precision-guided weapons last Wednesday at elements of Iraq's air defense system Though the hostilities have become almost routine, they come as the Bush administration plans a possible war against Iraq to force it to give up weapons of mass destruction that officials say President Saddam Hussein could share with terrorists. Baghdad denies it has such weapons programs.

 

[kstop]

Originally posted by steve albino
Deputy Russian Ambassador Gennady Gatilov said the United States had taken the council's lone copy to Washington where it would make duplicates for distribution to the four other powerful council members.

The way the BBC tells it, the UN still has the original, but the US got the first copy and is using it to make copies for the other permanent Security Council members, as their photocopier is "more secure".

The original apparently lists foreign companies that have knowing supplied Iraq with components for its nuclear program, some of which are American, and almost certainly have ties to the current US administration. Chances are the names of those companies will never be officially made public.

 

[steve albino]

This is from Associated Press where the BBC take their news from a lot of the time:

"The complete weapons report arrived at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sunday. In a deal reached Friday, the report was to be distributed to Security Council members only after inspectors had removed so-called sensitive material from its contents - including possible recipes for bomb-making - which inspectors didn't want getting into the wrong hands.

But the United States managed to skirt the deal through weekend diplomacy and walked out of U.N. headquarters with its own copy early Monday. Washington agreed to share the declaration with the council's four other powerful members - France, Russia, China and Britain.

The move has angered several non-permanent council members including Syria and Norway. Norwegian Foreign Minster Jan Petersen said it was wrong to treat some members as "B-nations."

 

[P. Littbarski]

it might be harder to invade Iraq if it is claimed/brought to light, in print, that American companies (with links to current American Leaders) sold weapons etc. to Iraq until recently...hence the Iraqis being pissed off that the Americans are the ones going to supply (edited) copies to the rest of the security council

the cosmic ballet contiues

 

[P. Littbarski]

US warns Iraq it faces nuclear option
Last updated: 11-12-02, 06:58

The United States raised the temperature in its confrontation with Iraq over weapons of mass destruction, saying it could go nuclear if such weapons were used against its forces or its allies.

Washington issued the warning as UN arms inspectors carried out the most intensive inspections in Iraq of their current mission. At the same time, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry accused Washington of trying to find a pretext for war.

Iraq accused the United States of looking for an excuse for war by seizing control from the United Nations of distribution of the 11,000-page declaration of Iraq's weapons programs.

The White House said the accusation was "laughable," but Security Council members such as Norway and Syria - who will be given only an edited copy of the document - said they were being treated as second-class powers.

"The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force - including through resort to all our options - to the use of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies," the US strategy report said.

Senior US officials said the passage on nuclear deterrence was not a change in policy but had been added to the document, the first update since 1993, to put increased emphasis on the role of deterrence against a weapons of mass destruction attack.

About two dozen UN arms inspectors arrived in Iraq yesterday, bringing to about 70 the number of inspectors engaged in the hunt for any hidden weapons programs.

At the United Nations, chief weapons inspector Mr Hans Blix said he hoped to have an assessment of the Iraqi arms declaration next week after distributing an edited version of the document to the full Security Council.

Anti-war demonstrators rallied across the US yesterday, with protests ranging from a letter from Hollywood celebrities to a pot-banging march to the White House. They were some of the most widespread demonstrations against the US military buildup around Iraq, with events in about 120 towns and cities to coincide with International Human Rights Day.

But polls show most Americans support Mr Bush's threat to use force to disarm the Gulf nation, and the anti-war rallies were a far cry from the large, passionate protests during the Vietnam War years.

 

[steve albino]

(Reuters) - The United States reminded Iraq and other countries on Tuesday that it was prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary to respond to an attack from weapons of mass destruction. The warning, which underscored longstanding U.S. policy leaving open the use of nuclear weapons if needed, was contained in a statement of U.S. strategy against nuclear, chemical and biological weapons -- the first update since 1993. The six-page strategy document says deterring attacks with the threat of "overwhelming force" is an essential element in protecting America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction