No evidence yet on weapons of mass destruction
The war on Iraq entered day 20 and still no evidence has been presented so far of the country’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, the purported reason for the attack.
A US military official said on Tuesday more testing and analysis was required before determining whether substances found at sites in central Iraq were banned chemical weapons agents.
"Initial reports were 'yes, it could potentially be'," said Brigadier General Vincent Brooks.
"We do not know enough at this point to say it should be discounted or that we have found some weapons of mass destruction for use."
That contradicted an earlier remark on Tuesday by a US military source near the predominantly Shia city of Karbala in Iraq who said tests indicated the substances were not chemical weapons agents. "The latest tests turned out negative," the source said.
US troops wait in NBC suits in Kuwait after a warning of a missile attack from Iraq on March 20. They removed their suits when they arrived in Baghdad
“The United States is now embarrassed because it could not confirm the presence of WMD in Iraq,” said Dr. Hassan Krayyim, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut.
During an earlier phase of the war, US military officials claimed that President Saddam Hussein would use chemical weapons against the invading forces as soon as they cross the “red line” around Baghdad.
Until now he hasn’t. “Even if (Saddam Hussein) has chemical weapons, it is not logical for him to use them in the heart of the Iraqi capital, because Iraqi soldiers and residents will be affected,” said Krayyim.
He pointed out that the use of such weapons would only be significant if they harm the enemy and not one’s forces.
“That’s why the US troops are so confident that they won’t be attacked by chemical weapons that they have removed their suits,” he said referring to the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) protective outerwear suits. “They know the WMD issue is over.”
Shortly after US troops entered the Iraqi capital, they were ordered to take off their NBC suits.
Krayyim ruled out the possibility that Iraq would use WMD even if it possesses such weapons. “Iraq does not have a political interest in that because the Iraqi government wants to quash the justification which the US used for waging its war,” he said.
US violations
In the meantime, US President George Bush has authorised the use of tear gas in Iraq, which could be a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention that states that “each state party undertakes not to use riot control agents as a method of warfare.”
“It won’t be the first violation that the United States commits If it uses tear gas,” Krayyim said. “They have also used cluster bombs in the war on Iraq.”
The use of cluster bombs drew criticism from human rights organizations against the US. “Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the high toll of civilian casualties and the use of cluster bombs in US military attacks in heavily populated areas,” AI said in a statement on April 2.
On April 1, at least 33 civilians including many children, were reportedly killed and around 300 injured in US attacks on the town of al-Hilla.
Amnesty International referred to reports that cluster bombs were used in the attacks and may have been responsible for some of the civilian deaths.
"The use of cluster bombs in an attack on a civilian area of al-Hilla constitutes an indiscriminate attack and a grave violation of international humanitarian law," the leading human rights organization stated.
"If the US is serious about protecting civilians, it must publicly commit to a moratorium on the use of cluster weapons. Using cluster munitions will lead to indiscriminate killing and injuring of civilians," the organization added.--- Al Jazeera with agency inputs |
