reuters.com
UK Says Iraq Hiding Weapons as Blix Report Looms
Sun January 26, 2003 08:49 PM ET
By Peter Graff
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday Iraq was hiding banned weapons, spying on UN arms inspectors and hindering their movements, hours before a key inspectors' report to the Security Council.
British officials briefed journalists on intelligence they said proved their case, though they gave no indication as to the source of their information.
They made clear Britain is prepared to make the case that Iraq is in breach of Security Council resolutions calling on it to disarm, even if inspectors produce no "smoking gun" of clear evidence.
They said they had shared intelligence with the inspectors which showed Iraq was hiding chemical warfare munitions, missile engines and secret documents about weapons programs.
In one case, missile parts were squirreled out of a production site in November before inspectors arrived.
Britain has also told the inspectors that Iraq was spying on them, bugging hotel rooms and even staging fake car accidents and other diversions to keep them from reaching certain sites, the officials said.
The briefings were timed to coincide with Monday's reports by chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei, and give a foretaste of the arguments Britain and the United States will make in the coming days.
Blix, whose remit covers missiles, chemical and biological weapons, is expected to say Iraq has not been fully cooperative with inspections. ElBaradei, who covers nuclear weapons, will say his inspections need more time to be conclusive.
In the absence of a "smoking gun," London and Washington may face a difficult task in persuading skeptical Council members and their own increasingly wary publics that war is justified.
The British officials said their intelligence also showed Iraqi scientists had been threatened with harm, including the kidnapping of family members, if they cooperated with inspectors or showed them documents.
No Iraqi scientist has agreed to be interviewed while alone with the inspectors.
The officials said the Iraqi leadership had already begun looking for "an escape route" and funneling assets abroad.
Iraq denies it has an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, or that its leaders would seek asylum abroad |
