France Asks For Evidence of Iraq Weapons
14 minutes ago
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - France asked governments to give U.N. inspectors any evidence they have on suspected Iraqi weapons programs, in a request directed at the United States and Britain ahead of a key Security Council meeting Thursday.
The United States has promised to share information with inspectors, as long as U.S. intelligence sources aren't compromised. "We have and will continue to provide information to the inspectors," a U.S. official said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) told The Washington Post that in the past few days, the United States has begun giving inspectors "significant intelligence" that has enabled them to become "more aggressive and to be more comprehensive in the work they're doing."
But Washington is holding back some information to see if inspectors "are able to handle it and exploit it. ... It is not a matter of opening up every door we have," Powell said.
The chief U.N. inspectors, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, were scheduled to give their updated assessment of the inspections — which resumed Nov. 27 after a four-year halt — to a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday morning.
They were expected to report that they have not yet found evidence of secret Iraqi programs, but that Baghdad's arms declaration is incomplete and contains inconsistencies, U.N. diplomats and officials said Wednesday.
Blix has said his inspectors need intelligence from other nations because the 12,000-page declaration that Iraq submitted on its banned weapons programs leaves so many unanswered questions that it's impossible to verify its claim of having no weapons of mass destruction.
Blix leads inspectors searching for Iraqi chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles; ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is in charge of nuclear inspections.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Wednesday his government wants the council to adopt a resolution that requests all countries to provide information on Iraq's "prohibited programs" and recommend sites to be visited and Iraqis to be interviewed.
On Tuesday, De Villepin told a news conference in Moscow that "all countries with specific information must convey it."
The requests were aimed at the United States and Britain, who claim they have evidence of clandestine Iraqi programs. Baghdad denies it has such weaponry.
ElBaradei said Monday that after two months of inspections it was still too early to determine whether the Mideast nation was trying to develop nuclear weapons.
"We are not certain of Iraq's (nuclear) capability," he said.
Blix has called on Iraq to answer outstanding questions in the declaration on Iraq's chemical, biological and missile programs, which is required under Resolution 1441, adopted Nov. 8.
A senior Iraqi official denied on Thursday that the arms declaration was incomplete, as inspectors have repeatedly said.
"People who claim there were gaps, I could tell you right away they have not read it," Amir al-Saadi, Iraq leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s science adviser, said.
The purpose of Thursday's Security Council meeting was to give council members an assessment of Iraq's arms declaration and update them about "our increasing capability in country, including the use of helicopters, the opening of a temporary regional monitoring center in Mosul and other steps to make us more effective," Blix's spokesman, Ewen Buchanan, said.
Blix is to give the council a formal report on the inspections on Jan. 27.
After his last briefing to the council on Dec. 19, Blix urged the United States and Britain to hand over any evidence they have about Iraq's secret weapons programs so U.N. inspectors can check it.
Britain opened a channel weeks ago to provide the inspectors with information and "they are getting all that we can usefully give," a British official said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Blix said the United States and Britain have given briefings to inspectors on what they think the Iraqis have, but what inspectors really want to know is where weapons-related material is stored.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said his government believes all countries should share intelligence with Blix and ElBaradei. "We are ready to do so," he said. |
