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To: pallmer who wrote (4021)	12/13/2002 2:18:58 PM
From: pallmer	Respond to of 29600

-- DJ Bush Admin Blasts Iraq Weapons Report; Weighing Options -- WASHINGTON (AP)--Iraq's 12,000-page weapons declaration does not account for a number of missing chemical and biological weapons and fails to explain attempted purchases of uranium and other items U.S. intelligence believes are related to President Saddam Hussein's nuclear program, U.S. officials said. Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the Iraqi declaration "a bogus report." "I don't now how you could put any credibility in it," Shelby said. Iraq used the lengthy document to support its contention - disputed by the U.S. - that Saddam's regime possesses no weapons of mass destruction, U.S. officials said. The tentative U.S. conclusion that the report is lacking sets the stage for a critical set of decisions by President George W. Bush, who views the declaration as Saddam's last chance to come clean, officials said. Meanwhile, a Russian delegation headed by Dmitriy O. Rogozin, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian parliament, called on Undersecretary of State Marc Gross. Afterward, a Russian official said there was no possibility that Russia would provide troops to help in any conflict with Iraq. But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was an open question whether Russia might provide other forms of support. Bush's options include providing American intelligence on suspected weapons programs to U.N. inspectors or helping the world body attempt to prove that Saddam is lying, which was required under a U.S.-backed U.N. resolution that also created a new inspections regime in Iraq after a four-year lapse, the officials said. Bush could also simply seek more information from Iraq, a route White House officials said earlier Thursday the president would not take. After a more thorough review of the declaration, the president also could declare that Saddam was in "material breach" of the resolution, and that war was required to disarm him, officials said. The latter step, favored by hard-liners in the administration, likely would be condemned by U.S. allies who want proof that Saddam is a threat. But a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press last week that the U.S. was not inclined to engage in prolonged debate in the U.N. Security Council and might be impelled to act on its own, especially if a veto to block action loomed. American intelligence experts were comparing their conclusions with experts from other countries on the Council and a Council meeting is planned for next Thursday. Under the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, false statements or omissions in the declaration - coupled with a failure to comply with inspections - would be a "material breach" of Iraq's obligations. Newly admitted weapons inspectors have not publicly accused Iraq of obstructing their efforts. The Iraqi report largely rehashes old declarations and reports and contains little new information, officials said. It has done nothing to alter the U.S. belief that Iraq possesses chemical and biological weapons and is pursuing nuclear weapons, officials said. More important than what Iraq put in the declaration is what it left out, an official said. The report, being analyzed at the CIA and elsewhere, does not account for quantities of chemical and biological agents that were missing when U.N. inspectors left Iraq in 1998, officials said. Hundreds of mustard gas shells, for example, remain unaccounted for, officials said. It also does not explain a number of Iraqi acquisitions that the U.S. suspects are related to Saddam's nuclear program, officials said. This includes the purchase of uranium in Africa, as well as purchases in Western countries of high-tech equipment that could be used in a uranium enrichment program, officials said. Enriched uranium or plutonium is a necessary requirement for a nuclear weapon. White House and CIA officials refused comment on the assessment, first reported by The New York Times in Friday editions. However, Bush himself told ABC News his gut feeling about Saddam was that "he is a man who deceives, denies." The U.S. and Russia turned in their preliminary assessments Thursday to chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Three other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the U.K., France and China - are supposed to provide their assessments as well by Friday. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-13-02 1417ET- - 02 17 PM EST 12-13-02 13-Dec-2002 19:17:00 GMT Source DJ - Dow Jones